Report and photos by Isabel Castro

Malusay, Guihulngan City — “Pinakakusug nga bagyo.” (It was the strongest typhoon.) This was the observation of Alfredo Cotchoco, a 64-year-old resident of a coastal community in Barangay Malusay, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental. 

Last December, Typhoon Odette — international name Rai — devastated Negros Island and other adjacent areas in the country. In Negros Oriental, the death toll had hit 73 with 21 others still missing, as of December 24, 2021. In Guihulngan City alone, 7 had died because of the typhoon.

Mr. Cotchoco lives by a mangrove forest, where residents have rarely experienced the ravages of storm surges and typhoons. Their local fisherfolk association, the Malusay Fish Loving People (MAFILP), has been responsible for protecting the mangrove area and marine protected areas in their barangay. Despite the mangroves being relatively intact, their community, on the other hand, was wiped out by strong winds and storm surges.

“Panagat raman gyud ni amoa… wala laing gisaligan, panagat lang.” (We only have fishing… We don’t depend on anything else, just fishing.)

The typhoon destroyed more than 10 of the bangkas of the fisherfolk association, and their office had been totally damaged. All their files, equipment, and documents are now all gone. 43 families had been affected in their community, with most still living in barong-barong or makeshift shelters weeks after the typhoon made landfall. With no immediate and efficient government relief, residents are relying on mainly private relief efforts as well as their own bayanihan system to help each other recover from the devastation.

Malusay Fish Loving People (MAFILP) office had been flooded due to storm surges as Typhoon Odette made landfall in Negros Island.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) last January 3, 2022 has expressed that the estimated production loss in agriculture in Negros Oriental is now at PHP 2.183 billion. The Provincial Agriculture Office had also recorded that the fisheries sector has an estimated damage of PHP 672.789 million.

“(Kung) wala nang pumpboat, wala nang trabaho.” (With no pump boats, we don’t have jobs.) 

Boats and houses in a coastal community in Barangay Malusay, Guihulngan City.

Residents of Malusay are now calling for the government to give immediate relief to their communities and aid to fisherfolk in order to continue their livelihood. 

Youth at the forefront of relief

The Guihulngan Empowered Youth Towards Sustainable and Green Environment or GEYTSAGE is one of the active youth organizations that immediately responded to the call for relief from communities in Guihulngan City. With no stable signal, electricity or internet, members struggled to find information on the extent of the damage to their city. 

“There was an unstable internet connection, which made it hard to communicate with our members… Posting on social media was very limited, that is why we can’t reach more people for possible donations,” recalls the members of GEYTSAGE. “It was really hard to communicate with our members that we have a meeting, repacking, or assessment.”

Despite these challenges, they were able to conduct relief operations in Guihulngan City, and prepare 507 relief packs, which were distributed to approximately 500 people in Barangays Banwague, Linantuyan, Poblacion, Malusay and Bulado. They also conducted a free champorado drive and a community pantry in the city.

Loading relief packs into the LGU truck which GEYTSAGE had been able to borrow.

Barangay Banwague, Guihulngan City: Bayanihan among residents as members of the community help organize relief distribution.

GEYTSAGE is one of many youth organizations that have been at the forefront of providing immediate relief to the many victims of Typhoon Odette in Negros Oriental. For the past two years that the province had experienced calamities such as flooding, landslides and the effects of stronger typhoons, youth and students have organized themselves to do relief drives each time.

While private efforts to reach out to survivors of one of the strongest typhoons to hit the island have helped sustain entire communities, the government has yet to reach all those affected by the typhoon. Weeks after, many residents have expressed not having received government relief or assistance despite having reported on the damages to their residences and crops. 

Having been exposed to the realities on the ground, youth groups such as GEYTSAGE are now calling for strengthening and institutionalizing education about climate change as part of the school curriculum. With bigger waves, stronger typhoons due to the lack of action taken on the climate crisis, they are also urging the government to ensure that there is transparency and accountability, especially on the budgets for the calamities. 

Volunteers of the Guihulngan Empowered Youth Towards Sustainable and Green Environment after relief operations

“Relying on the compassion of benevolent individuals is quite exhausting, what we really need is a compassionate system,” the group said.

They are also calling on the prioritization of laws and local ordinances that would prioritize the protection of the environment.

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