MikeLigalig.com

Theyâ€"weâ€"will see you through, in northern Cebu, in Samar, in Leyte, in Bohol, in Capiz to better days.

We come now by the thousands, and the hundreds of thousandsâ€"in schools and museums, in parishes, in government centers, in homes; peer groups, families, parishes, work mates, play mates: We hold you in our hearts.

We whisper a prayer, we send positive thoughts, we share your sorrow and your hope, even as we prepare to supply for your physical needs, in our small ways, writ large as we muster our forces together.

Do not stay down, Visayas.

You may resort to desperate measures, driven by hunger pangs and impatience. You may walk as though you have come to the end of everything.

But you belong to a long-suffering people, and you know how to listen in the end to the better angels of your nature, and you trust that help is on the way from your compatriotsâ€"your brothers and sisters.

Hold on. Help is on the way.

Your churches and houses were flattened. Your lovely coasts were sullied. Your hills slid and your plains cradle corpses and proofs of brokenness.

But you can build once more, and even as you seethe with rage and stream with tears, you can draw lessons from the source of your anger and grief, the better to fortify yourself the next time nature wreaks havoc in these unsteady isles.

Do not stay down, Visayas.

Editorial

Do not stay down, Visayas.

Cebu Daily News
Monday, November 11th, 2013



Earthquakes struck you. Typhoon Yolanda knocked you down. The twin calamities, like a thief stole at least 10,000 of your sons and daughters.

But your faith stays with you, and so does the hope that death is not the last chapter of your story with your children.

Do not stay down, Visayas.

your own fashion statement?  how nice to see your image here at tb then...

Quote from: islander on November 11, 2013, 01:58:51 AM
“Under the circumstances, I would say looting for food and water is justifiable. But if you are taking a huge TV on your Pajero, that’s different,” said Bilisario, who survived a 3-meter storm surge that swept through the Air Force barracks overlooking Leyte Gulf.

pakauwaw lang. here is an example of someone who takes advantage of a dire situation.  hinaot unta nabali ang iyang spine sa inalsa sa tv.

In Estancia town, Iloilo province, Western Visayas, 56 bodies were recovered from the sea on Sunday, according to municipal budget officer Erol Acosta.

The municipal government buried the bodies in mass graves, Acosta said.

In Cebu, officials reported 40 people killed in the northern part of the province.

They said 80 to 85 percent of houses and buildings and public infrastructure, especially on Bantayan Island, were destroyed by the typhoon.

State of calamity

Negros Occidental has declared a state of calamity, with many areas in the northern part of the province devastated and thousands of homes destroyed, Gov. Alfredo Marañon said on Sunday.

Only one person in the province was killed during the typhoon, Dominador Daulong, 67, who drowned in flash floods that hit Inayawan village in Cauayan town. â€"Reports from Marlon Ramos, Gil C. Cabacungan, Christian V. Esguerra and Riza T. Olchondra in Manila; Connie E. Fernandez, Nestor Burgos Jr., Jhunnex Napallacan and Carla Gomez, Inquirer Visayas; and wires


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

‘Don’t forget us’

As the government appeared to be focusing its attention on Tacloban, officials from other parts of the Visayas hit hard by the typhoon appealed for national help on Sunday.

Representatives Lucy Torres-Gomez of Leyte’s fourth district and Rogelio Espina of the lone district of Biliran said that although Tacloban suffered greatly, their districts also needed help.

“We need tetanus vaccines, chlorine tablets, candles, blankets, tents, rice and ready-to-eat food,” Torres said.

Espina said the people in his district needed tents, food and medicines.

He said at least five people were killed in Biliran during the typhoon.

The council could confirm only 709 deaths: 546 in Leyte, 98 in Tacloban; and 65 in Eastern Samar.

It said 57 people had been reported missing.

Leo Dacaynos of the Samar provincial disaster council said Sunday that 300 people were confirmed dead in Basey town and another 2,000 were missing.

Some of the power lines knocked down by Yolanda were repaired and returned to service on Saturday, including those in the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Bohol, Cebu and the islands of Negros and Panay, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

Transmission lines in Leyte and Samar were being inspected by company crews, the NGCP said.

10,000 dead?

The Eastern Visayas police chief, Chief Supt. Elmer Soria, said he was briefed by Leyte Gov. Dominic Petilla late Saturday and told there were about 10,000 deaths in the province, mostly by drowning and collapsed buildings.

Petilla’s figure was based on reports from village officials in areas where Yolanda slammed Friday.

But the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), 900 km away in military headquarters in Quezon City, could not confirm that figure, and could not give a count of its own.

“We’re really having difficulty contacting local disaster risk reduction and management offices. We don’t know the real situation in the areas where we don’t have a line of communication,” said Maj. Rey Balido, spokesman for the NDRRMC.

Send more troops

An Waray Rep. Neil Montejo felt more back-up forces were needed to restore order in Tacloban, and proposed that additional troops be sent to the city, according to House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.

Belmonte said he would meet House leaders Monday for a discussion of ways to help in the relief and rehabilitation effort.

The scenes in Tacloban, a city of 220,000 people, and other coastal towns were reminiscent of a tsunami aftermath, with concrete slabs the only part of many homes remaining, vehicles flipped over and power lines destroyed.

“This is destruction on a massive scale. There are cars thrown like tumbleweed and the streets are strewn with debris,” Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, the head of a United Nations disaster assessment coordination team, said in Tacloban.

“The last time I saw something of this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami,” he said, referring to the 2004 disaster that claimed about 220,000 lives.

Yolanda hit Leyte and the neighboring island province of Samar with maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 250 kph early on Friday, generating storm surges of up to 3 meters high that roared deep inland.

Troops deployed

Senior Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac, spokesman for the Philippine National Police, said 342 officers from the Special Action Force were deployed to Tacloban.

“They will be part of the peacekeeping force [there],” Sindac told reporters in Manila.

“The PNP is calling on the survivors to try to keep calm, be strong and patient. Help is on the way,” Sindac said.

PNP Director General Alan Purisima and senior government officials flew to Tacloban City on Sunday on a C-130 military cargo plane to see to the deployment of the special forces there.

Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, chief of the military’s public affairs office, said 100 soldiers were ordered to Tacloban to beef up the military personnel who were already there and in surrounding towns.

“As we firmly establish command and control in affected areas, we appeal to the public to be patient. We understand your emotion and frustration due to the lack of information coming out,” Zagala said in a statement.

The President left a national disaster council meeting briefly after a resident bombarded him with complaints.

The resident, a businessman, told Aquino that people were being “slaughtered downtown because of the looting.”

“Slaughtered? Slaughtered by… ?” the President asked.

“Someone shot at me downtown,” the businessman’s companion said.

“You are alive, so you are not slaughtered,” Aquino said.

The man appealed to Aquino to put Leyte under martial law.

The President said the government was already studying the declaration of a state of emergency, but later told reporters that crack troops would be sent to Tacloban as “show of state force to stop the looting.”

He said the national government had to step in and take over temporarily, putting in law enforcers and other people to fill positions that had suddenly become vacant because of the disaster.

The President said the government had thought of declaring a state of emergency or martial law when looting in Tacloban was reported.

Instead, the national government decided to take over, with the Department of the Interior and Local Government overseeing operations until all local government employees could return to work, he said.

State show of force

The looting forced President Aquino to order special forces backed by armored personnel carriers to Tacloban to help local police restore order.

Speaking to reporters at Tacloban airport after surveying the damage in the city, Aquino acknowledged a “breakdown, especially in the local government level.”

“They are [the] necessary first responders, and too many of them were also affected [and could] not report for work,” the President said.

Before long a line formed in front of the store, and people came out carrying crates of household goods, groceries and bottled water.

The looting spread to other places, including branches of fast-food chains and shopping centers, among them the Gaisano Central on Justice Romualdez Street, and Robinson’s Place in Marasbaras district.

Richard Bilisario, an Air Force soldier, was surveying the damage when he saw the looting of Robinson’s Place. He was appalled.

“Under the circumstances, I would say looting for food and water is justifiable. But if you are taking a huge TV on your Pajero, that’s different,” said Bilisario, who survived a 3-meter storm surge that swept through the Air Force barracks overlooking Leyte Gulf.

He recalled telling one man, “Going shopping?”

“The man only smiled,” he said. “I said, ‘Go on.’ Next week this storm will happen again,” Bilisario said, shaking his head.

Anarchy

And as in the movies, survivors ransacked banks’ automated teller machines, confirming a general breakdown in law and order.

“It’s anarchy,” said Kenneth Uy, owner of Asia Stars Hotel in downtown Tacloban.

On Friday morning, people swarmed on the 578 Emporium convenience store on the main avenue that was guarded by the owner.

“You cannot come in,” the owner warned the crowd.

“If you don’t allow us to come in, we will use force,” one man replied.

Then the men started counting, “One, two, three… .”

The owner gave way.

“People are becoming violent. They are looting business establishments, the malls, just to find food,” Pomeda, 36, said. “I’m afraid that in one week, people will be killing from hunger.”

Authorities appealed for calm as they tried to understand the extent of the devastation that Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) wrought on Tacloban, where early, unconfirmed estimates put the death toll at 10,000, a sharp increase from the Philippine Red Cross estimate of 1,200 on Saturday.

Should the death toll exceed 10,000 as some officials estimated, the supertyphoon could well be the worst disaster to hit the country.

Like much of the Visayas, Leyte remained cut off from communications, leaving government workers carrying relief struggling to reach coastal villages, where the death toll remained unknown.

“People are walking like zombies looking for food,” said Jenny Chu, a medical student in Leyte. “It’s like a movie.”

the comment's inspiring observation is somewhat negated by this---

Worst disaster to hit PH

Thousands feared dead amid looting

By DJ Yap, Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Monday, November 11th, 2013


HARD LANDING A large boat sits on top of destroyed homes after it was washed ashore by strong waves caused by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Tacloban City. AP

“Tacloban is totally destroyed,” public school teacher Andrew Pomeda said of the damage inflicted on his city by Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” which swept through Visayas on Friday in what could be the worst disaster to hit the Philippines.

“Some people are losing their minds from hunger or from losing their families,” Pomeda said.

Three days after one of the worst storms on record swept through the central Philippines, decimating entire towns with tsunami-like surges and monster winds, Pomeda’s devastated Tacloban City had become a no-man’s-land.

a commenter points out that it may be misunderstood as a quote by CNN; it's not, she says.  it's by someone who commented on a CNN news item about the typhoon's devastation.

HARD LANDING A large boat sits on top of destroyed homes after it was washed ashore by strong waves caused by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Tacloban City. AP

Quote from: Lollapalooza on November 10, 2013, 08:18:04 PM
you know i can't see any organized rescue efforts... sige mana sila study oi... people needs help na gyud..

dat is why di magkadimao.  daghan kaayog brayt.

oh-oh, i hope not much meaning is put into that 10-minute lull.  how about an emergency bodily demand and the rest room is in that nearby police station?  or was everyone already testy because of the catastrophe such that everyone became unusually discourteous and demanding?

lord, have mercy.

hahahahaha!  at least i'm not alone!

WHO WOULD CHOOSE LADY GAGA OVER THIS?  The guided missile destroyer USS Mustin, with a complement of 300 crew, was once under the command of Cmdr. Michael Misiewicz.

super! 

Misiewicz has his own emails to deal with. Misiewicz, who has a family and children, was noted by the company as preferring Japanese prostitutes and allegedly given such services on more than one occasion. He will have to face emails thanking the company like one that read, “Take care gents, thank you for the best leave (w/o kids that is) ever!”

Given the description of the charges, it was probably better to leave the kids at home when Fat Leonard was entertaining.

source: Washington Post


http://jonathanturley.org/

Beliveau reportedly emailed Francis, “I will always be your friend but you will get nothing else until I get what you promised . . . I can be your best friend or your worst enemy… I am not an amateur.” If these charges are correct, he is worse than an amateur in sending emails complaining about the failure to make good on bribes.

Some of the most incriminating emails come from NCIS Special Agent John Beliveau, 36. According to media reports, Beliveau is accused of helping Francis in dealing with the investigation. He allegedly sent Francis emails. The complaint alleges that in return, Beliveau helped Francis craft a response to an NCIS inquiry and even searched an internal computer database several times for details on the investigation.

Fat Leonard and his company then proceeded to overcharge the Navy for various services. Just a few examples cited by the Navy exceeded $10 million. Since 2011, Fat Leonard and the Glenn Defense Marine has received a staggering level of contracts worth over $200 million. Francis was allegedly after inside information and steering vessels to ports that used his company for pierside services.

One of the greatest disappointments is the alleged involvement of Cmdr. Michael Misiewicz. Misiewicz was born Vannak Khem in Cambodia but escaped the killing fields when he was adopted at 6 by a U.S. embassy worker. He later attracted global attention by commanding the destroyer USS Mustin in a return to Cambodia for the first time in 37 years. It was a moving story for both countries. However, he also attracted the attention of Fat Leonard for another reason. Francis and an unnamed manager identified Misiewicz “as someone who might be susceptible to providing favor . . . in return for things of value.” The Navy says that he was right. They accuse Misiewicz was given prostitutes, tickets and other bribes to influence him in his later job as deputy operations manager for the Navy’s 7th Fleet, overseeing all naval activities in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. His relationship was so close that he called Francis “Big Bro” and he was called “Little Bro.”

fastforward three years, and sadly...


Fat Leonard And The Sailors: Navy Rocked By New Contracting Scandal

JONATHAN TURLEY
October 22, 2013

No it is not the latest rock band. Fat Leonard is the nickname for the rotund contractor named Leonard Glenn Francis, chief executive of Glenn Defense Marine. The Asian company is accused of greasing the skids in the Navy with bribes ranging from prostitutes to luxury hotels to tickets to Lady Gaga concerts. Snared in the scandal are an array of top Navy officials, including an official at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and a Navy Commander known as “Little Bro” to Fat Leonard. Fat Leonard was well known in Naval circles and was given his nickname because he dressed out at 6-3 and 350 pounds.

Misiewicz said his reunion with relatives in Cambodia would go a long way toward easing his qualms about the opportunity he had â€" and that his relatives did not.

"A lot of who I am is small-town America, you know, work hard trying your best at whatever you do ... but certainly the genetic thing, so many of the blessings that I've had come from my birth family," he said.

"I feel a lot of sadness for my own family, but also for so many Cambodian families," he said. "It's been a long, long time of war, genocide, civil war; my birth country and my fellow Cambodians just need a break." (http://www.militarytimes.com/)

“My aunt got sick, so some arrangements were made between my adopted mom, my dad and my aunt to find a better life for one of us children, and my adopted mom found a liking toward me,” Misiewicz said.


Michael Vannak Khem has made an emotional return to his birth country in 37 years and met his relatives and an auntie who helped arrange for his adoption in 1973 for the first time his ship. The commander’s face was impassive at first, but it softened as more and more extended family members were helped onto the barge below him. Then he saw his aunt, now 72, who had helped him leave for the US so many years ago. Commander Misiewicz walked slowly down the metal stairs and they embraced, weeping.

While his aunt carried out her cleaning duties, Misiewicz’s future mother would let him watch movies and play games at her home. So in 1973, when she was scheduled to leave Phnom Penh, the only way she could bring the little boy she had grown fond of was to adopt him.

“I went [to the U.S] and I think the initial thought was for me to get a better education, live a better life and eventually return to Cambodia,” Misiewicz said.


In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2010, Samrith Sokha, 72, hugs her nephew and U.S. navy officer Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz at Cambodian coastal international sea port of Sihanoukville, about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh , Cambodia.


-from Cambodian-American Destroyer CO to Return to Birth Country after 37 Years, http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2010/11-november/009.htm

In 2010, the Cambodian-American Destroyer commanding officer returned to his birth country after 37 years.


Cmdr. Michael V. Misiewicz, commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89), walks down the brow to meet members of his family and the media after the Mustin's arrival to Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Misiewicz says the most emotional part of returning to Cambodia will be reuniting with his living blood relatives, especially an aunt who played a large part in his adoption and an uncle who hoped for a better life for Misiewicz. As a child, Misiewicz was very close to his aunt and often accompanied her at work as a maid for the American woman who later became his adoptive mother.


-from Cambodian-American Destroyer CO to Return to Birth Country after 37 Years, http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2010/11-november/009.htm

For more than 16 years after moving to the U.S. in 1973, Misiewicz did not know what happened to his family in Cambodia.

“As a child I would cry almost every night, thinking about my family and what had happened to them,” Misiewicz said. “I had no idea at that point in my life whether they had survived the Killing Fields or not.”

(In 1989, he, his surviving siblings, and his birth mother were reunited. But he also learned the devastating news that his father had been executed by the Khmer Rouge in 1976.)


-from Cambodian-American Destroyer CO to Return to Birth Country after 37 Years, http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2010/11-november/009.htm

Vannak Khem became Cmdr. Michael Misiewicz

As a young Cambodian boy born and living in the rice fields outside of the capital Phnom Penh in the late 1960’s / early 1970’s, Misiewicz â€" whose birth name was Vannak Khem -- wasn’t aware of the political tension building up around him. When his country plunged into turmoil, his family reluctantly gave him up for adoption to a young American woman who worked at the U.S. Embassy, allowing him to escape before the Khmer Rouge regime took over the country, eventually causing millions of deaths in what is known as the “Killing Fields.” 


-from Cambodian-American Destroyer CO to Return to Birth Country after 37 Years, http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2010/11-november/009.htm

grrrrrr!  i truly hate that hypocrite.  i prefer his identical twin, bert of sesame street.

Quote from: islander on November 05, 2013, 09:56:18 PM
makatarantar.  unbelievaboy.  why man tawon nga filipino girl pa man?  samot gyod kong di mabasol nga arang kaistrikto nako sa akong 12-year-old tawon when it comes to internet use.

gawas pa nga naa gyod tay mga impiyernong operations pedophile internet sex nga ingon ani, nakabasa ko nga ang rason diay nga gigamit ang virtual filipino girl kay mas katuhoan nga maka-iningles ang filipino nga bata compared to some other asian kuno.

thanks for the ample warning, bai tigs.  kun apilan nako nig paranoia, ambot ba tawon nga gimakmak man ta ug mga natural disasters uy, one after the other.  makalma ba kaha ang tanan, mapapas ba kaha ang atong nasudnong karma karong panahona, kun mang-resign tanan nang naa sa atong upper house ug lower house?  klaro man gyod nga nagdala lang na silag dangan uy.

Quote from: Lollapalooza on November 09, 2013, 08:46:05 PM
I contacted two of our Engrs. here... Engr. Votives and his family are all safe and doing well.. Engr. Pikoy's relatives are also safe... 

glad to hear that, loll.  our regards.

Quote from: Lollapalooza on November 06, 2013, 01:52:08 PM
a bit sad.. a close family friend of ours passed away this morning... May you rest in peace Uncle Boboy

may he rest in peace. amen.

A line man of Albay Electric Cooperative works on electric lines damaged by Super typhoon Yolanda, in order to restore the power supply at the soonest possible time. Michael B. Jaucian, GMA News

Coron, Palawan. Taken by YouScooper Al Linsangan. (http://images.gmanews.tv/)

Coron, Palawan. Taken by YouScooper Al Linsangan. (http://images.gmanews.tv/)

Coron, Palawan. Taken by YouScooper Al Linsangan. (http://images.gmanews.tv/)

The body of a typhoon victim is carried out by rescuers in Coron, Palawan on Saturday, November 9, after being badly hit by super typhoon Yolanda. DANNY PATA (http://images.gmanews.tv/)

A scenes from Concepcion, one of the most ravaged towns in Iloilo. It was where Yolanda made its 5th landfall on Fri, Nov 9. JIM PENDON (http://images.gmanews.tv/)

A general shot shows houses destroyed by the strong winds caused by typhoon Haiyan (Philippine name: Yolanda) at Tacloban, eastern island of Leyte on November 9, 2013. AFP (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/)

believable.  i won't discount the political strategies of binay.

mas maayo pa gyod.  lig-on ug di managpa.

The Initial or Very First Armistice Day was held at Buckingham Palace commencing with King George V hosting a "Banquet in Honour of The President of the French Republic" during the evening hours of November 10, 1919. The First Official Armistice Day was subsequently held on the Grounds of Buckingham Palace on the Morning of November 11, 1919. This would set the trend for a day of Remembrance for decades to come. (wikipedia)

The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields". These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.


the poppy flower

A Poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colorful flowers.

One species of poppy, Papaver somniferum produces edible seeds, and is also the source of the crude drug opium which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as morphine and has been used since ancient times as analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drugs.

Following the trench warfare which took place in the poppy fields of Flanders, during the 1st World War, red poppies have become a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime.


wikipedia/

Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918.

Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the Armistice, signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am) World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919. (wikipedia)


Remembrance Day, London, 2006.

Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. (wikipedia)


Memorials in the Field of Remembrance outside London's Westminster Abbey for Remembrance Day, 2002.

London Poppy Day
The red poppy, a symbol of remembrance for the wartime dead, is being taken up by younger generations in Britain, a century on from its World War I origins. For at least two weeks a year in the build-up to November 11 - Armistice Day in 1918 - poppies are seen on television, jacket lapels, car bumpers and newspaper mastheads. (http://news.yahoo.com/)

Super Typhoon Yolanda wrecks the Ormoc City bus terminal in Leyte after it made landfall Friday morning. Yolanda packs maximum sustained winds of 235 kph near the center and is considered one of the strongest storms in recorded history. mimikins sandy via YouScoop

An old tree in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City, falls due to tenacious winds of super typhoon Yolanda on Friday, November 8. PHL Red Cross Cebu

A giant Christmas tree decoration is destroyed by super typhoon Yolanda in front of the Cabuyao city Hall in Laguna on friday, November 8. Junjun Lazanas via YouScoop

Workers inspect the damage after a giant Christmas tree was toppled by strong winds during the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda in Cebu City on Friday, November 8. One of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded in history slammed into central Philippines, causing landslides, shutting off power in many areas, and cutting communication signals in Visayas regions. AP/Chester Baldicantos

Strong waves batter the wharf in Gigmoto, Catanduanes at the height of super typhoon Yolanda on Friday, November 8. The strongest storm on earth this year, Yolanda slammed into the Central Visayas region on November 8 forcing thousands of people to move to safer ground and storm shelters, cutting power and phone lines, and grounding air and sea transport. James Tan via YouScoop

Agence France-Presse, meanwhile, said a man was reported missing after he fell off a gangplank in the central port of Cebu.

"The winds were so strong that they flattened all the banana plants around the house," university student Jessa Aljibe, 19, told AFP by telephone from the Samar city of Borongan shortly after Haiyan made landfall.

All telephone contact to the island was later lost as the typhoon moved inland.


more at http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/334590/news/nation/three-dead-as-super-typhoon-yolanda-pounds-central-philippines

Three people have died while seven were injured due to super typhoon Yolanda, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported Friday afternoon.

A total of 145,641 families were affected by the typhoon, NDRRMC said.

One of the casualties from the typhoon was 56-year-old Randy Cejar from Calinog town in Iloilo province, the Philippine Information Agency reported on its Facebook page Weather Watch.

as of 5:00 pm...

Three dead as super typhoon Yolanda pounds central Philippines

November 8, 2013

One of the most intense typhoons on record whipped the Philippines Friday, killing three people and terrifying millions as monster winds tore roofs off buildings and giant waves washed away flimsy homes.

Super Typhoon Haiyan smashed into coastal communities on the central island of Samar, about 600 kilometers southeast of Manila, before dawn on Friday with maximum sustained winds of about 315 kilometers an hour.

"We've had reports of uprooted trees, very strong winds... and houses made of light materials being damaged," Philippine Red Cross chief Gwendolyn Pang told AFP on Friday afternoon as Haiyan swept across the archipelago's central and southern islands.

Storm surge at the Port of Nato in Sagnay, Camarines Sur, is seen during super typhoon Yolanda's wrath on Friday, November 8. Jake Perez Sr. via YouScoop

Oratio Imperata (Latin: Obligatory Prayer) is a set of Roman Catholic invocative prayers consisting of a liturgical action and a short, general prayer which the local ordinary or prelate of the church may publicly pray when a grave need or calamity occurs.

Common reasons for the religious invocation of the prayer are natural calamities such as storms, snow and drought while rare circumstances which merit the prayer are wars, plague and the disruption of public peace in society. The prayers are customarily invoked by an Archdiocese on behalf of overwhelming popular requests, and is authorised by a high-ranking prelate or Metropolitan Archbishop. (wikipedia)

Oratio Imperata (Obligatory Prayer)
for deliverance from calamities

Almighty Father, we raise our hearts to You in gratitude for the wonders of creation of which we are part, for Your providence in sustaining us in our needs, and for Your wisdom that guides the course of the universe.

We acknowledge our sins against You and the rest of creation.

We have not been good stewards of Nature.

We have confused Your command to subdue the earth.

The environment is made to suffer our wrongdoing, and now we reap the harvest of our abuse and indifference.

Global warming is upon us. Typhoons, floods, volcanic eruption, and other natural calamities occur in increasing number and intensity.

We turn to You, our loving Father, and beg forgiveness for our sins.

We ask that we, our loved ones and our hard earned possessions be spared from the threat of calamities, natural and man-made.

We beseech You to inspire us all to grow into responsible stewards of Your creation, and generous neighbors to those in need.

Amen.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma yesterday asked bishops and priests all over the country to lead people in prayer “for deliverance against natural calamities.”

The oratio imperata or mandatory prayer Palma relayed through Radio Veritas says “Global warming is upon us” as seen in more intense and frequent typhoons and floods. The prayer seeks forgiveness for man’s abuse of the environment, which is called a “sin” against God and “His creation”.


Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/523117/prayer-power#ixzz2k6nzsYuD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF76Xu1t5z4#ws
Mactan, Cebu, Friday, November 8, 2013

Tacloban City, Friday, November 8, 2013

Cebu, Philippines, Friday, November 8, 2013

thanks, hof.  nag-atang man ko kay, what about... tua didto atong loved ones.  ang anda church was spared from the earthquake but is now damaged by the typhoon?  oh, my.

Among those commending the pope was the star of "The Middle" and "Everybody Loves Raymond," actress Patricia Heaton. Heaton, a Christian, tweeted, "How much do I love (Pope Francis)? SO much."


http://news.yahoo.com/

The response to the pontiff's action was strong, with The Washington Post noting that it reminded some of Matthew 8, a Bible chapter in which Jesus heals a leper. And there's also his namesake St. Francis Assisi, the 13th century Catholic friar who was said to have once kissed a leper.


Credit: EPA

The man reportedly suffers from neurofibromatosis, which according to the Mayo Clinic is a "genetic disorder that disturbs cell growth in your nervous system, causing tumors to form on nerve tissue." It is not contagious.

While individuals with neurofibromatosis are sometimes shunned because of their appearance, Francis wasted no time kissing the man's face, embracing him and offering up a blessing.


Credit: EPA

The encounter between the pontiff and the unnamed individual reportedly took place after Francis addressed his general audience, when the man approached the Catholic leader and asked to be blessed.


Credit: EPA

The Simple Thing Pope Francis Did to a Severely Disfigured Man That Has Captivated the World

The Blaze
By Billy Hallowell
08 November 2013

Pope Francis took the time Wednesday to do one simple thing that has now captivated the globe: He embraced and prayed with a man covered in tumors in St. Peter's Square.


Credit: EPA

amen.

#YOLANDAPH. Typhoon Yolanda's batters Tacloban Leyte. Screen shot from Facebook video of Karl Jake

TACLOBAN FLOODING. Flooding hits Tacloban Leyte, with debris and floodwaters inundating the area. Screen shot from ABS-CBN YouTube report

THREAT. Typhoon Yolanda poses a menacing threat to the Waterfront in Cebu. Photo contribution by Jerex Saliganan

Being prepared even before a disaster strikes can save lives.



-from Rappler.com

no power, no mobile phone contact gyod diay pa ang cebu, loll.

thanks, loll.  i'm not alone when it comes to contact blackout after all.

Address corruption

Casuga, who is now in residency training for surgery, worked as an MHO in San Jorge under the "Doctors to the Barrios" (DTTB) program, which deploys fresh graduates of medical schools to poor and remote municipalities.

DTTB is a program of the DOH launched by Flavier, who has inspired many with his life story.

But many of the doctors under DTTB are forced to compromise their principles as they finish their two-year service in the towns they are assigned to.

"New graduates like me really find it difficult to do our work efficiently and more easily. Often we need to bend our principles just to get some jobs done," said one doctor.

"Corruption perhaps is a bigger and more frustrating cause of why medicines are not accessible," he added. - Rappler.com

Exclusive use of ambulance

In an interview, the female doctor also shared how the town mayor asked her for the exclusive use of the town ambulance.

"Sabi niya, 'yung ambulance, you should only use that for my mga kapartido, kasi kung hindi ko kapartido hwag mo pagagamitin yang ambulance.' Sabi ko, 'paano po kung life and death situation na kailangan talaga ng ambulance?'" she narrated her conversation with the mayor.

(He told me, "only my partymates should be able to use the ambulance." I said, "what if it's a life and death situation and the ambulance is really needed?")

"Sinabihan niya ako na hayaang mamatay yung mga patiente. Sabi niya, 'Bakit ko sila tutulungan kung pagdating ng eleksyon ilalaglag nila ko?' Sabi ko, 'hindi ko po yun kayang gawin eh.'"

(He told me to just let the patients die. He said, "Why should I help them if they will leave me hanging during elections?" I said, "I couldn't do that.")

Threat to life

Casuga is not the only doctor who was transferred to another town due to a perceived threat to life.

A doctor who was previously deployed in another town in the Visayas also refused to sign bidding documents that the mayor asked her to sign. The bidding was dated Jan 4, 2012, a day when she was on leave for her sister's birthday.

"Actually, everybody sa internal, they advised me, 'Pirmahan mo na lang yan. Okay lang yan. Papel lang yan.' Pero hindi eh," she said. (Actually, everybody in the office advised me to sign the papers. They told me, "It's okay. It's just paper." But no.)

"It will haunt me for the rest of my life, the rest of my career… Bakit ko isasakripisyo yung buong buhay ko (Why will I sacrifice my life) just for the comfort of this one person?" she asked.

The doctor, who is now a Municipal Health Officer (MHO) in a different town, said she was pulled out of the town due to "poor LGU support" and "threat to life."

"Sana makita ko rin na tama yung makukuhang gamot... [Yung nagdi-dispense] mga waiters ni mayor na wala namang health background," he said in an interview. (I hope I can also see they are getting the right medicines. Those who dispense the drugs are waiters of the mayor with no health background.)

Casuga narrated an instance when a patient came back to him with the wrong medicine and said "yun yung binigay sa taas (that's what they gave upstairs [in the mayor's office.])"

A mother with her 5-year-old suffering from pneumonia was also hesitant to go to the mayor's office to ask for the prescribed medicine, as she was not a voter.

Medicines as political tools

The same doctor sees around 20 patients a day. As in Casuga's case, medicines are dispensed to residents at the Office of the Mayor and not at the rural health unit (RHU).

"All patients who need medicines as per my prescription, have to go to his (mayor's) office to get the medicines themselves... Even this much jacked-up medicines are used as political tools," he said.

Casuga said this set-up affects the "continuity of care" delivered to the town residents.

The system is simple, based on what the doctor deduced from his experience: the supplier and mayor "agree on a certain jacked-up price" where both get to have their share from the extra amount added on top of the medicine's real price.

"If I did the purchase myself and not thru the Bids and Awards Committee, the amount would just have been around P60,000-P80,000," he said, adding that it could have saved the municipality some P320,000.

"And worse, I cannot object to it. I fear for my job and life, so I didn't want to contradict higher-ups on matters like this," said the doctor, who requested anonymity.

Overpriced medicines

Another doctor â€" deployed in a 4th-class municipality in the Visayas â€" said the irregularities in the purchase of drugs by LGUs have been a source of frustration for him.

Sharing his experience with Rappler, the 26-year-old doctor said he was shocked by the steep prices of purchased medicines and medical supply. He had requested for the drugs for his RHU some time in December 2012.

"Even test tube brushes, which cost around P10-P20 perhaps, cost P350! Gloves which cost P120-P150 pesos are priced P550 in that receipt. Amoxicillin syrup which costs P15-P20 is priced P115," he said in an interview. The receipt was dated Jan 13, 2013.

Post-devolution

Filipinos have benefited from the devolved functions of local government units (LGUs). The devolution expedited the delivery of more nuanced services based on hyperlocal needs.

The independent procurement of medicines per local government, however, has raised issues of wasted money and the inefficient selection of purchased drugs.

In the Department of Health (DOH) set-up prior to devolution, the health professionals had the upper hand in managing health resources instead of the local executives. Today, it's the other way around.

Casuga shared how the purchase request for over P100,000 worth of Cotrimoxazole, for example, that the mayor asked him to sign was not a priority based on the health needs of San Jorge residents.

The money, he said, could have been spent for a simple lying-in center in the rural health unit (RHU).

Dr Casuga refused to sign a purchase request of P2-million worth of medicines in January 2012 which, he was told, had already been distributed to town residents the year before.

"Questionable kasi ang purchase order, dadaan pa yan sa committee. Tapos previously distributed na siya. Dapat previous officer-in-charge ang mag-sign," he said. (It was questionable, because the purchase order should go through the committee. And then the medicines were already distributed. It should be signed by the previous officer-in-charge.)

Casuga was referring to the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), which supposedly supervises the procurement of goods and items for the town.


REFUSED TO SIGN. A copy of the purchase request that Dr Gabriel Casuga refused to sign. Photo provided to Rappler