Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, in commemorating last November 7, the 9th anniversary of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), honored and prayed for at least 6,300 who perished in that second deadliest typhoon in the Philippines.
Nine years after Yolanda hit hardest the Eastern Visayas region, particularly Tacloban, Romualdez said the lessons learned from this tragedy “continue to guide the country’s response to calamities and highlight the Filipinos capacity to help one another during times of crises.”
“This resilience is borne in part by the sacrifices of our first responders, our unity in the face of adversity, and our propensity for compassion toward our fellow citizens in times of calamities,” Romualdez added.
Yolanda, a Category 5 typhoon-- one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded-- leveled most of whatever structure was standing in Eastern Visayas in 2013. Romualdez, hails from Tacloban, which bore the brunt of the 2013 howler.
“While it is very difficult to forget the horrors we faced during Yolanda, the important thing is we learned from this harrowing experience. And if we learned from this tragedy, we continue to honor those who perished and those who willingly sacrificed their lives for the benefit of others,” the Speaker said.
“We have recovered fully from Yolanda, and this is a testament to the Filipinos’ resiliency. Whatever calamity we will face—and surely there will be in the future—we can overcome because of this resiliency and our sincere compassion toward our fellow Filipinos,” Romualdez said.
The House of Representatives recently raised over P75 million in cash and in-kind donations both from lawmakers and private donors for families affected by the recent Typhoon Paeng.
“But the real heroes behind our recovery from every calamity are really our first responders and rescue workers. They are the ones who risk their lives to save others. They are the true heart and soul of our resilience,” Romualdez added.
Haiyan originated from a low pressure area several hundred kilometers east-southeast in the Federated States of Micronesia on November 2, 2013.
Haiyan is also tied with Meranti in 2016, Goni in 2020 and Surigae in 2021 as the most intense tropical cyclone in the Eastern Hemisphere by 1-minute sustained winds; several others have recorded lower central pressure readings.
On November 7, the eye of the typhoon made its first landfall in the Philippines at Guiuan, Eastern Samar at peak strength. Gradually weakening, the storm made five additional landfalls in the country before exiting to the South China Sea.
The typhoon caused catastrophic destruction in the Visayas, particularly in the islands of Samar and Leyte. According to UN officials, about 11 million people were affected and many were left homeless.
It is a fact that hardheaded residents in the path of the storm have learned enough to obey warnings for them to evacuate early and seek safe grounds. But there are still those that stay put in their house and when conditions worsen, appeal to rescuers to prioritize them—as if they had no time to prepare for the worst.
There is much we can do to conserve and protect our environment and forestall a worsening of climate change. Individually, we can be mindful of our lifestyles—plant trees, walk instead of using cars on short distances, bike if possible, eat healthy, avoid burning our trash, particularly our garden wastes and recycle whatever we can (let us not throw everything, plastics especially, since many people have use for whatever we consider garbage. Cook and lay on the table only what we can consume.