Maslog town mayor yearns for rubber boats, evacuation center

By NINFA B. QUIRANTE, PIA Borongan
January 23, 2011

BORONGAN, Eastern Samar  –  Maslog town Mayor Septemio Santiago yearns for four rubber boats and an evacuation center for his flood prone municipality.

After three weeks of rainy days, he and his people are always on the look out for the rising water level. The mayor recalled that flooding also happened in 2008 while he was already serving as the mayor then.

“It was not as much as the flood waters recently,” Santiago shared.

“I was just thankful the floods happened during the day and we saw our way during the rescue operations, had it happened during the night, many would have died,” the Mayor was visibly pained with his recollection.

As they did house to house rescue, the rubber boats they used got damaged, thus, wishing for a new rubber boat is the mayor’s yearning.

“I also wish to construct an evacuation center for my people,” the mayor added.

He knew that despite his plans to permanently relocate his people in higher and safe area, some, still may opt to remain, where their livelihood is, so that the town needs an evacuation center where the people can run to in calamities like the most recent one.

Mayor Santiago is aware though that some of his constituents are so ingenious to use indigenous materials in constructing make shift shelter during the flood.

In the pictures he sent to PIA E Samar, his people used coconut leaves, bamboos and other materials that abound in the area to construct temporary shelter.

But his people may need a more durable evacuation center that can withstand the onslaught of natural elements in the future.

As the days wear on, the Mayor and his people are fervently wishing that the multitude of the generous-hearted who provided them relief packs could also help them by providing the rubber boats he yearns and the evacuation center.