Celebrating Christmas after Sendong

After Sendong, it is impossible to think of celebrating Christmas and not  think about Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

Christmas is family reunions, around the the media noche table. That is what we will have in Lucena tonight, with the gathering of the Villariba clan.

But there will be no reunions and media noche meals for thousands of families whose houses have been swept away by Sendong, and who are still anxiously hoping to find missing members, or mourning their dead.

The day before Christmas, I re-read what others have written about Sendong and its aftermath. There are many words of compassion and wisdom. I choose three that continue to occupy my mind and heart.

The first is from friends at Balay Mindanaw Foundation Incorporated:

We refuse to be victims. We are resources.

When news of Sendong’s destructive impact broke, Girlie and I thought of friends at BMFI whom we have known for a decade and whose Facebook status we regularly check.  Kaloy Manlupig was quick to send the first updates. Ayi Hernandez’ personal story gave us a gripping sense of the risks and the responses. After accounting for all the BMFI staff and their families, many of whom took shelter in the Balay Mindanaw Peace Center, they focused their time and energies on assisting the families and communities assigned to them. They have been issuing regular bulletins about their work and the donations they have received.

Their work inspires us. But also their words, which they first heard from another Asian peace activist.

The second is from Atty. Tony La Vina’s article, After Sendong, 10 Things We Must Do:

Avoid distractions and blame games, but exact accountability.

“Although this is certainly not the time for blame games, accountability must be exacted. In other countries, notably in Japan, officials take themselves out of the equation by resigning and taking responsibility. Unfortunately, we do not have that tradition here. And so I welcome the task forces created by the President to investigate what happened, although I would have preferred an independent commission to do this job to have more objective findings. Nevertheless when they finish, I hope they will file the appropriate criminal, civil and administrative cases against accountable officials. I would especially want charged those officials who abetted the activities that exacerbated the disaster, or those which had the information and the power to prevent it (but negligently did not do so).”

The third is the title of the pastoral letter of Archbishop Tony Ledesma SJ:

A Time to Grieve, A Time to Build

After Ondoy, we worked together in the Climate Change Congress of the Philippines (CCCP). Although our initial focus was on MetroManila and national policies, Archbishop Tony consistently drew our attention to the precarious situation of Cagayan de Oro and its endangered watershed.

“In some of our churches, the Misa de Gallo could not be celebrated because the church became a refuge for families seeking higher ground.  In one chapel, even pigs and other animals were brought in and tied at the foot of the altar.  Lay ministers were scandalized until the parish priest reminded them that this must have been the same situation in the stable of that first Christmas night…

“The longer-term challenge is to help these families re-build their present homes or re-locate to safer grounds.  We are heartened by the visit of President Aquino and other public officials.  His declaration of a state of national calamity and observation that families should not be allowed to return to extremely dangerous areas are welcome statements.  Last January 2009, the city had already experienced severe flooding.  Some old-time residents recalled that this phenomenom happens every forty years.  But barely three years after that, Typhoon Sendong came with greater vengeance.

“We have to cast a broader look at the entire river basin area of Cagayan de Oro River.  This extends to the northwestern part of Bukidnon and surrounding areas.  Illegal logging and irresponsible mining activities have contributed to the degradation of the environment and the siltation of the river bed.  The erection of man-made structures may have also impeded the natural flow of the waters. (The continued hydraulic flush mining along Iponan River has likewise caused widespread flooding of the Canitoan-Iponan areas of the city.) It is for these reasons that we have to strengthen the Cagayan de Oro River Basin Management Council, a multi-sectoral effort to protect and conserve our most precious natural resource after our human resources – the river system.

“As we approach Christmas week and the coming of the new year, may I propose a Family-Adopt-a- Family program.  Families unaffected by the flood can invite to their homes an evacuee family, especially those that have lost their homes or loved ones, for a few days or for a Christmas meal to share the spirit of the season. May the new-born child in the manger fill us with the spirit of solidarity in moments of adversity and hope in the sharing of love and life with one another.  “Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart” (Ps. 90).

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