ENTRY 44 — Pacific Ocean Survivors

note: you can click the images to enlarge them

Real life trumps reality television shows all the time. I met these fishermen in a hospital in Mati, Davao Oriental. For five days, they were drifting in the Pacific Ocean (near Surigao del Norte). Their fish boat never stood a chance against the low pressure area.

Ocean survivors.

They were eight in all. For days, they ate nothing but toothpaste. They even drank their own urine when they managed to surface using some of the debris.

The fishermen managed to access the storage room of the capsized fish boat. It served as a makeshift roof that could accommodate four people. But it was humid inside and every time they would sleep here, their lower bodies had to be submerged in the sea.

The sun never shone on them during their ordeal. They could not tell what time of day it was just by looking at the sky. They were lucky one of them had a water-resistant watch to keep track of reality. But in a sense, the clock was ticking on their survival.

BRP Magat Salamat docked at the pier of Mati, Davao Oriental

The timing of their rescue was coincidentally precise. Fishermen from GenSan found them just before sunset of their fifth day. The survivors were not sure they could make it if they had to endure one more day at sea.

The worst part is that one of the eight survivors died after the rescue! On their way to the hospital inside a vehicle, the unfortunate fisherman quietly lost his life — probably because of intense fatigue.

ENTRY 43 — Davao Oriental

note: you can click the images to enlarge them

I’m spending my last day in the Davao region. Thankfully, the Low Pressure Area that became typhoon Agaton (and returned to being an LPA) is now out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

While most of the news team have been here for more than a week, I am just on my third day as the replacement of Mav Gonzales. She got sick and had to go back to Manila. But still there were plenty of stories to tell.

These giant logs and stones may look like set pieces in a movie shooting. But they are actual souvenirs of a landslide. These uninvited guests destroyed up to 200 structures in Barangay Marayag in the town of Lupon, Davao Oriental. At least, no one died here.

Giant logs and stones remain in Brgy. Marayag

All of these debris diverted the flow of the river. The road is part of the river already!

Road river.

Meanwhile, I encountered numerous landslide sites as we were driving around Davao Oriental. If only I can stop them from happening, I would!

Landslides everywhere.

The LPA also triggered river currents strong enough to destroy concrete bridges like the Manurigao Bridge between the towns of Caraga and Baganga. It resulted in isolation; food and basic supplies were scarce in three municipalities. A week after the LPA, the DPWH created a temporary bridge for pedestrians and motorcycles. Business interests took advantage again. Motorcycle rides to Baganga cost 150 pesos per head.

Manurigao Bridge.

The San Jose Bridge in Caraga also took a beating from the low pressure area. But it’s now passable to light vehicles. The new temporary bridge rests on a portion of one of the collapsed approach.

Times are really changing. It only took a low pressure area to cause significant damage in the region. But then again, the residents here are the same victims of the devastating typhoon Pablo. They have yet to recover and they will try again to regain their lives back.

San Jose Bridge.

Davao Oriental is a beautiful place though. Before you enter its capital Mati City, you’ll drive by a zigzag road with a postcard view. Residents call this place the Sleeping Dinosaur.

Sleeping Dinosaur.