Yolanda survivors fulfill ‘panata’

Survivors of typhoon Yolanda from Tacloban City enjoy the the activities along Osmeña Boulevard, Cebu City. (CDN PHOTO/CHOY ROMANO)

A family of Yolanda survivors from Tacloban City ignored the  bleak weather forecast and travelled to Cebu to fulfill their “panata” or vow to honor the   Señor Santo Niño on his feast day.

“This is a yearly  religious activity that we do together as a family.   This  is our ‘panata’,” said Mariza Abarquez, who arrived Saturday with 12  relatives.

They were supposed to arrive on Friday, but  ferry operators suspended their service after the low pressure area that has affected Mindanao and parts of the Visayas intensified into a tropical depression.

“I prayed to the Holy Child that we could make it here,” she added.

LIVELIER THAN EVER

It’s more fun in 2014.

Peachie Madrid, who has been joining the Sinulog for more than 10 years, made this assessment, as she and her three children watched the street dancing competition along Osmena Blvd.

“Mas lingaw siya this year kay murag mas daghan mang tawo oi kaysa sa una,” the Toledo City resident told Cebu Daily News.
(This year’s celebration is more lively . There were more  people who came  this year compared to previous years.)

Hat spot
Without  the rain, typhoon Agaton’s presence was not felt by Sinulog revelers. Many welcomed the cool – at times chilly – breeze as overcast skies prevailed over Cebu yesterday. Not everyone though was happy.
Felipe Cotamco, who sells straw hats at the Fuente Osmena,  said in previous Sinulogs – where the sun was up – he sold 80-90 hats in the first three hours of the grand parade.
Yesterday, he only sold 10 pieces by mid-morning.
The slow business prompted the 72-year-old to slash his price from P35 to P25. Cotamco said he earns P5 for every hat sold.
“My earnings would have helped in the repair of my house,” he said in Cebuano. Cotamco’s house in Bogo City was among those destroyed by supertyphoon Yolanda. / Correspondent Victor Anthony V. Silva