Happiest Yolanda survivor: “That’s just the way I am”
Video by INQUIRER.net’s Ryan Leagogo
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte – Only the wide toothless grin and deep wrinkles between the cheeks and mouth gave away Leticia Rigaton’s age at 58. But her age has not stopped her from giggling like a teenage girl who has finally been noticed by her crush in school.
When told that she does not seem like someone who has survived the most powerful typhoon to ever make landfall in recorded history, she giggled and placed both hands around her face as if trying to cover her blushing face.
“Ganun lang ako talaga (That’s just the way I am),” Rigaton said with a smile that lit up her face even without her teeth.
“Mahirap kapag iniisip mo yung nagdaan sa buhay mo. Dumaan si Yolanda at ang malaking tubig, halos na nga mamatay mga anak ko noon (It’s hard when thinking about your past experiences. Yolanda came with the storm surges and my children even almost died then),” Rigaton recalled.
The house of Rigaton and her family was washed away by Yolanda’s storm surges and they had to make their way to the second floor of the barangay (village) hall by clinging onto electric wires in neck-deep waters.
They were eventually told to leave the barangay hall and they sought shelter in the church. But they were not able to stay there for long because they were also told to leave. Eventually they just returned to their neighborhood.
Rigaton, her husband, three children and one grandchild are now among the beneficiaries of Plan International’s transitional shelter projects in Barangay 62, which is less than a hundred meters away from Tacloban City Astrodome. In Yolanda’s immediate aftermath, Astrodome served as the city’s biggest evacuation center.
The transitional shelters are constructed by local residents who have been trained in plumbing and carpentry.
It takes around 10 days for two plumbers and six carpenters to build one from raw materials of wood and plywood. They are paid P22,000 for each house they build. The money is split evenly among them.
At least 20 of these transitional shelters have been constructed by the local residents; each can house at least seven people.
Leticia Rigaton. Photo by RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
Rigaton currently does part-time work as a helper. Her husband makes a living repairing shoes though she admits he cannot do much work anymore because he has pneumonia.
Asked how she felt about the transitional shelters that were mostly made of wood, she cheerfully said: “Maganda. Nabigyan kami ng maganda-gandang bahay (Beautiful. We were given a really beautiful house).” Then she grinned and giggled again.
“Dati, para kaming nawala sa sarili dahil wala kaming bahay, wala kaming pagkain, walang hanapbuhay (Before, it was like we lost our sanity because we didn’t have a home, we didn’t have any food, we didn’t have any livelihood)” Rigaton said, raising her eyebrows slightly a couple of times as if to say “Can you beat that?”
“Pero ngayon nakabalik na rin kami sa normal (But now we are finally back to normal),” she said happily.
When asked about the thousands of people who lost relatives and loved ones, Rigaton admitted she felt sad for them and also for the many other refugees who say they have yet to receive financial aid from the government.
“Nalulungkot din kami na namatayan sila. Minsan nakakapanood ako sa TV na hindi pa raw sila nakakatanggap ng pera. Ano gagastusin nila pag wala pa tulong sa kanila? (We feel sad for those who lost loved ones. Sometimes I watch people on TV who say they have not yet received money. What will they spend if they don’t get assistance?)” Rigaton said.
She cited her children as a reason why she retains her optimistic and jovial attitude.
“Ayoko mawala pa yung mga anak ko, ako na lang sana mawala wag lang yung mga anak ko, tsaka yung mga apo ko (I don’t want to lose my children. I would prefer that I die rather than my children or my grandchildren,)” Rigaton said.
“Masaya pa rin ako na yung mga anak ko nandito pa sakin, buo pa, nakikita ko pa. Makakain kami kahit konti, okay lang, basta wala lang sakit, di ba? (I am happy because my family is still here with me, all here, I’m still with them. We may be able to eat only a little. It’s okay, as long as we don’t get sick, right?).”
