COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER Estelita Lorea started telling her horrible experience during Typhoon Yolanda with the loss of her brother. Had the community have a sturdy bridge connecting them from the town proper then, her brother would still be alive.

Estelita recalled her brother and his co-worker were swept away by flood during Typhoon Yolanda when they tried to reach Guibungan-Tigbauan in Cabatuan, Iloilo. They came from their work in Iloilo City when Typhoon Yolanda lashed Iloilo Province.

The water from Tigum River overflew and generated fear among the residents. The current is so strong that made crossing very dangerous.

After the typhoon passed, the community wondered how to connect their community to the nearby barangays to normalize their life. Since, they have no adequate funds to construct a new steel bridge, the community built a bamboo bridge.

This not only affected Guibuangan-Tigbauan, but neighboring barangays as well—Puyas, Cadoldolan and Pungtod. The residents took the longer route by foot or motorcycle. This path would take them 30-minutes more in travel time.

In 2014, Kalahi-CIDSS, one of the three main poverty programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development became the government’s rehabilitation response to Typhoon Yolanda affected municipalities.

There were municipalities not originally on the list of Kalahi-CIDSS covered municipalities. They were considered as non-poor but affected by Typhoon Yolanda. They eventually became Kalahi-CIDSS municipalities like the town of Cabatuan.

Barangay Captain Ernestor Lorea said they thought there is no more hope for the community to have another steel foot bridge. Not until Kalahi-CIDSS entered the municipality.

Under the Disaster Response mode of implementation, every barangay has a guaranteed share in the municipal grant accorded to each municipality. They were given a grant of P1.5 Million to construct a new steel foot bridge to allow better access for the community.

Thus, Guibuangan-Tigbauan presented their pressing need for a construction of a new steel footbridge. Yet, the community was also new to the system imposed by Kalahi-CIDSS in implementing their small scale sub-project. The need for community volunteers to work on with the project was something that they have to grasp.

Loreta said the implementation of the project was far from easy. The construction of the bridge was very difficult for us because of the increment weather condition. The water from the river would rise.

 “Sang nag volunteer ko sang una, nabudlayan gid kami sang pagpatukod sang taytay. Ga uran-uran pa sadto kag ga taas naman ang tubi. Kami man lang nagburuligay sag-ob kang tubi para lang matigayon ang proyekto nga ini (When I became a volunteer before, we found it very hard to install the bridge. It was raining then and the water would rise. We were the ones who helped in scooping the water out of the site),” she said.

After the installation of the bridge, the residents lived more comfortably. They do not need to take the longer route because they can easily pass without hesitation or fear. A habal-habal also operates in the community, which cuts-off their travel time.

“Wara na kami nahadlok kon mag-uran kay mas taas na ni kag mas pag-on ang bag-o namon nga taytay. Bilang tatay sang barangay nakit-an ko gid ang kasadyahan sang mga pumuluyo ko (We don’t have any fear now when it rains because this new bridge is higher and sturdier. As the father of the barangay, I saw the community’s happiness towards this project),” said Brgy. Captain Lorea.

The residents of the barangay now work hand-in-hand to maintain the foot bridge.

Once in a while, they repaint it so that it doesn’t rust easily and they reinforced the steel foundation every year.

They allot 10% of their budget yearly from the barangay to devote this to the maintenance expenses incurred. Needless to say, the spirit of unity and bayanihan is apparent in this community.

The destruction brought about of Typhoon Yolanda caused so much grief and hardships for the people in Guibuangan-Tigbauan but the people here have slowly risen from the ashes with the help of their new bridge and through the community’s perseverance.#