VERA Files
Time has not erased from the mind of Nick and Doris “Chai” Quieta what happened on November 8, 2013. Nor has it healed the pain and suffering that typhoon Haiyan brought to their families and that of more than 7, 000 others who perished in that tragedy.
By JAKE SORIANO A YEAR after the country was struck by the deadliest typhoon ever to hit land, child advocates are pushing for measures aimed at protecting the rights and welfare of children in the aftermath of disasters and other emergencies. “It is important that we take this opportunity to push for policy change to […]
By JANE DASAL THE devastation wrought by supertyphoon “Yolanda” and the slow pace of rehabilitation have made the Visayas a difficult place to be a mother. The mothers’ lack of access to basic services pulled down the Philippines ranking in the 2014 State of the World’s Mother index (SOWM), which was launched in Manila on Tuesday. […]
By JANE DASAL IF you want to save the earth, build a boat. That’s what a group of environmentalists is saying, especially if you want to save both the forests and fishermen affected by supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan). “Haiyan sank about 30,000 bancas. Fishermen in hard-hit communities need to get back in the water and on […]
By VERA Files CHURCH bells rang as Filipinos marked the first day of Simbang Gabi on Monday. A time-honored Christmas tradition of the Catholic faithful, the devotees flocked to dawn masses as they do every December. It’s no different for churchgoers in the Visayas, despite having been stricken by two of the country’s worst natural […]
Text and photos by LUIS LIWANAG TACLOBAN City — A palette of magenta and orange filled the eastern skies at daybreak, the silhouette of windswept trees whispered poetry, and a sea breeze cooled my face. This was my fleeting memory of Tacloban, a city I had passed through just a few months ago, on the […]
Text and photos by LITTLE WING LUNA VILLAMOR Air Base has become the first stop for Typhoon “Yolanda” victims fortunate enough to board the military’s C-130 planes from typhoon-ravaged Cebu and Tacloban. Friday was the third day that hundreds of hungry, weary and grieving souls landed at the Philippine Air Force hangar in Pasay City, […]
Text and photos by LUIS LIWANAG NATURAL disasters and extreme weather phenomena have become so routine lately that to hear the impending landfall of another supertyphoon failed to whet my appetite for another adrenaline-charged news coverage. Spending time with family and keeping my word on commitments to friends were at the top of my list […]
Text and photos by LUIS LIWANAG TACLOBAN CITY—The city government of Tacloban finally buried the dead in a shallow ditch that officials said was just a temporary resting place for those who perished from the wrath of Typhoon Yolanda. Cadavers wrapped in body bags, blankets, mats and even GI sheets collected from all over the […]
Text and photos by LUIS LIWANAG TACLOBAN, Leyte–Residents of this city and nearby towns joined an exodus toward safety Wednesday, after hearing of reports of an alleged gunfight between soldiers and leftist guerillas, who were supposed to have held hostage food convoys. People scampered away from Alang-alang town where an alleged gunfight involving New People’s […]