By Maricar M. Calubiran

THE RESIDENTS of Barangay Danao in Janiuay, Iloilo will not forget the tragic experiences brought by Typhoon Frank in 2008. For them, remembering these unforgettable experiences made them slowly moved on, and eventually welcomed the healing of wounds inflicted by “Frank” which human lives and destroyed millions-worth of properties in their town.

For the villagers, with moving on comes acceptance, and with acceptance comes lessons they bitterly learned. Thus, no wonder the residents of Danao all agreed to construct a flood control project funded by the national government’s Kalahi-CIDSS program.

“Ang baha nagpatay sang lima ka tawo kalakip na sang lima ka tuig nga bata sa amon barangay. Ang isa sa napatay wala pa makita hasta subong. Kapin sa tunga sang tatlo ka hektarya sang talamnan nga may irigasyon ang ginlapawan sang baha diri sa Barangay Danao (The flashflood killed five people including a two-year old child in our village. One of the victims remains missing until this time. Almost half of the three-hectare of the irrigated rice paddies were submerged in floodwaters),” the 73-year-old farmer Ludovico Pineda remembers.

Pineda recalls he was on his way to his rice fields when he saw floodwaters rushing from the swollen Suague River, which also flooded the nearby village of Calmay before it devastated Brgy. Danao. He rushed to the house of his sibling and helped his niece and nephew get out of their house.

“Tama kabaskog sang tubig. Sigurado gid nga anuron kami kon magkadto pa kami sa poblacion (The current was so strong we were sure it would sweep us should we continue to proceed to barangay proper),” Pineda painfully recounts barely containing his tears.

“May kasagingan malapit sa amon gani imbes magpuli sa amon balay, ginhigot ko na lang ang akon mga hinablos kag akon kaugalingon sa mga saging para indi kami maanod. Basa kami sa bilog nga gab-i (There was a cluster of banana plants near us. Instead of going home, I tied my niece and nephew and myself to the plants so that we will not be carried by the raging floodwaters. We were drenched the whole night),” he narrates.

When the flood receded, Pineda untied himself and the kids from the trees and went home. But the trauma remained.

“Kada magmunog ang ulan gani ginakulbaan na kami kag kinahanglan na namon mag aligmat in kaso mag-awas liwat ang suba sang Suague kag bahaon ang amon barangay (We became fearful every time it rains hard. We have to prepare in case the Suague River overflows and flood our village),” says Pineda.

BEACON OF HOPE

Two years after the typhoon, the villagers saw a beacon of hope with the Kalahi-CIDSS program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The residents of Brgy. Danao chose to prioritize the flood control project during the Criteria Setting Workshop for the Kalahi-CIDSS – Makamasang Tugon implementation in 2010.

The Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee (BSPMC) led by committee chairperson Dexter Pineda mobilized community volunteers to work and help materialized the construction of the river wall.

A group of community volunteers crafted the feasibility study and the program of works prior to the conduct of the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum (MIBF).
With the assistance of Municipal Engineer Evangeline Salarda, the site was validated.

The sacrifices of community volunteers representing the Project Preparation Team (PPT) paid off after their proposal to construct river wall with a total project cost of P901,703.00 was prioritized for funding.

While providing the community the infrastructure or facilities they need, the Kalahi-CIDSS has also built a pool of future leaders at the local level by training community volunteers in project planning, technical design, and financial management and procurement.

Raising the required local counterpart of P91,495.00 apart from the P810,208.00 Kalahi grant was made possible through Janiuay Mayor Frankie Locsin and Third District Representative Arthur Defensor, Jr.

Among other capacity building concerns, the Kalahi-CIDSS emphasizes good local resource mobilization as seen in the contribution of villages and their local governments.

LOT DONATION

Much of the success of the flood control project in Danao is attributed not only to the competence and sincerity of its officials but also to the generosity of private citizens such as the Acero and Alerta families.

Danao village chief Pompeyo Alerta asked his family to help the village by donating a portion of the property where the flood control project is to be strategically situated.

After a series of negotiations, Antonio Acero, who represents the living and legal heirs of the property, signed the deed of donation for the 480 square-meter lot. Alerta and Acero are relatives.

The Aceros’, who now lives in Manila, coordinated with Atty. Felizardo Amigable, a local lawyer supportive of Kalahi-CIDSS, in preparing the documents before the construction started.

“One of the legal heirs arrived here to see whether the request for lot donation could be of help to the entire community. The 480-square meter lot is only a portion of the several hectares of land owned by the Aceros in Danao,” says Alerta.

“Antonio is an engineer by profession and he understands the need for the construction of the flood control project,” he says.

In March 2011, the construction of the 62-linear-meter by 1.5-meter high dike started and was completed just in time for the rainy season.

Now, people grow rice, peanuts and root crops in idle areas near the treacherous river that caused so much misery to the villagers of Danao.

For Alerta, he says even in far-flung villages like theirs, hope spring eternal where sincere hearts and minds work to rebuild damaged lives.

With the completion of the dike project, farmers like Pineda are enthusiastic they can harvest their produce on time and are confident that the dike will ease the flooding in the village.

The completion of the flood control project has given relief to the villagers, especially during typhoons, says Pineda.

He says the flood control project is a big help to the community compared to the days when no structure can prevent the Suague River from inundating the village.

“Bilang flood survivors, kami sa gihapon mabinantayon ilabi na gid ko naga-ulan (As flood survivors, we are still watchful every time it rains. We have to protect our lives and properties in the event Suague River swells and overflows to the village),” Pineda concludes./dswd6