Guinsaugon , then the "coup"

The night before I decided to get out of St. Bernard. A lot of noise was being heard about rallies being held and another coup possibility. The 20th Anniversary of People Power/EDSA I was this weekend and I decided to cover it, in case something happened. Capt. Parmer and Gunnery Sgt. Ray, US Marines PAOs for the Balikatan exercises, came through and arranged for me to be on the first chopper flight out of St. Bernard. I then rang up my Air Force contacts to check if there was another C-130 transport plane I could hitch a ride on. Unfortunately not. It was 10PM and I still had no idea how to get back to Manila from Tacloban. Patrick and Marites were nowhere to be reached, but finally Trina rang back and I begged her to get me on a PAL flight out the next day. Thanks to her, this solved the logistical problem of my “Amazing Race”-like trip to Leyte.

While still at St. Bernard we heard that Col. Danilo Lim was arrested and that a coup had been “thwarted” in Manila. In the meantime, the Taiwanese rescue team, as well as the US and Philippine troops were mobilizing at base camp to head out to the site to try and search for the ever elusive school house. The rains may have washed away the earth burying the school house roof making it visible, but at a location estimated to be approximately 330 metres from its original site. By this morning, it was decided that the terrain leading to the original school house site was too dangerous and recovery operations were to be restricted to the lower elevation of the disaster area.

It was about 10:30AM when we finally touched down at the Tacloban airport. The Spanish K-9 rescue team had flown in one chopper, and I was in the second one with Red Cross volunteers who had spent the entire week at St. Bernard tirelessly searching for the lost residents. I immediately ran to the PAL ticket office to get my ticket and while waiting in line watched President Arroyo declare a “state of emergency”. Well, at least I was in Tacloban. I checked in my backpack with K&K’s sopping wet tent attached to its bottom bound by duct tape, then went to lunch. The “Amazing Race” travel bit was nearing its end, but I still had to figure out how to get to Villamor Air Force Base where I left my car parked in front of Base Ops. Manila was on heightened alert. I was pretty sure that base security would not have let in stinky, gear-laden moi with her mud-caked Gortex boots set even her big toe into its perimeter.

While waiting for the luggage carousel to disgorge my duct taped backpack, SMS messages came flying in that the EDSA rally had been dispersed and that Cory was the Paseo de Roxas triangle. I was able to get a taxi relatively quickly, headed for Villamor and was lucky to get in touch with my contact there to get me in. Leyte was done. Now it was time to check out the rallies and figure out what was going on.

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Guinsaugon Landslide 01

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Guinsaugon Landslide (03)

It rained all through the evening and it was still pouring when the camp stirred to life. By 7AM rescue teams set out for the sodden site to search for the school building. By 9AM US Sea Stallion choppers were busy buzzing back and forth between the base camp and the site. A decision was made to extricate the Taiwanese and the US Marines who were at the site. The rains had made the ground dangerously unsafe and and its terrain ever changing. Two Taiwanese rescuers had to be pulled out from the muck, but not before insisting that the chopper pull up a corpse they had unearthed from the area. Marines were soon pulled out and by noon Gen. Ramos ordered the suspension of search and recovery activities for the day.

The team the Red Cross sent out was heading back when they came upon a body that had been dug up by another rescue team. In the other team’s haste to pull out, they decided that it would be unsafe for them to bring the body back with them. Leo, the Red Cross field leader, then ordered his team to bring back the body with them.

I hopped onto a payloader to cross the river and check out the forensics team identifying the bodies. There were about 14 bodies that had been recovered over the last few days and a sickeningly sweet stench pierced the air. I forgot to bring my mask and ended up on the wrong side of the wind. There was child amongst the bodies; most were naked or had their clothing snipped off for inspection. I kept trying to think about how I was feeling about being up close to this scene, but nothing seemed to kick in. I just kept taking pictures, but I guess that was a way to distract myself from the reality of it all.

On a happier note, a US Marine Sgt. Kemp Miller was reunited with his long lost grandfather who lives in Jaro, Leyte. Miller had been sent back to his ship when he got word that his grandfather was looking for him and was making the 6 hour bus ride to base camp to see him. His superior officers allowed him to return to base camp and at about 10AM this morning, both were engulfed by a hungry media looking for a story. They both gave the obligatory interviews and then retired into a tent where Miller shared MREs with his grandfather.

By the mid-afternoon I found myself at the evacuation center at St. Bernard. The school housed about 4 neighboring barangays that were evacuated from the vicinity. During the day, the locals would return to their homes to retrieve personal items. However, those I spoke to would rather be relocated out of fear of being confronted with this tragedy again. I asked what they needed most – most said, “Money.” Sending relief goods is the humanitarian act to do; but, most of these goods may end up in the markets to be sold, even at a discount, just so the recipients can get some money to re-start their lives.

US Marines were scattered all over the place attracting crowds of young children brimming with curiousity, and hoping to practice their English language skills. Helicopters dropped into the grassy field in front of the school every 20 minutes or so, disgorging more personnel or more relief goods. Further up the road was the St. Bernard Municipal Hall – the operations base for the LGU and the US Marines.

Leyte was lucky that Balikatan exercises were scheduled for the same week. As soon as word of the tragedy broke out, the US command diverted troops away from the exercises and into search and rescue missions. Troops from the engineering corps could be spotted along muddy roadways and river banks dumping gravel or setting up make shift bridges to facilitate access to the areas. Lines of Marines linked up to dig and move rocks. The Chinooks and Sea Stallions were an indispensable in ferrying rescue teams, volunteers, the media and even some members of the Philippine Armed Forces to and from Tacloban. The Philippine Army was present and in charge of the field operations, while the US was to provide assistance and support wherever it was needed. However, the impact of the Army’s presence paled in comparison to the efficiency and the urgency which was projected by the US contingent.

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7:22 AM —- I have not had coffee nor breakfast. I am sitting on the floor, in the rear of a Philippine Air Force C-130 transport plane leaning against an assortment of bags and boxes of relief goods bound for Tacloban, Leyte. This is the first leg of the trip that will eventually take me to St. Bernard to the site of the Guinsaugon disaster. There are about 50 relatives of surors and victims of the Guinsaugon tragedy crammed into the hull of this flying tin can. The rest are media people and Philippine Air Force personnel. I think I chose the wrong spot. I could feel the bags and boxes pushing against me as we take-off for out flight.

10:22 AM — Step 1 completed: We’ve arrived at the Tacloban airport. It’s hot! I have to keep hydrating myself and I quickly feel the weight lightening off my camel back as I take sips from the hose. I’ve got another 6 pack of water in my backpack to keep me going these next few days, but at the rate I was swigging water I fear that I may have not brought enough.

We are waiting at the VIP Lounge. This air-conditioned area has been turned into the US Marines’ airport command post. Fatigue-clad personnel scurry about talking into radios and carrying boxes of all kinds. In the middle of the room, boxes of MRE’s are stacked up against a planter box for easy access. And for once, military efficiency has made going to an airport’s women’s toilet a pleasant experience by making sure that toilet paper, paper towels and soap have been all provided.

Two Indonesian Air Force planes arrived bearing relief goods and rescue personnel. Outside, US Marines and Philippine Army troops load a truck with mineral water and fuel for generator sets.

In between lulls of activity, a US Marine take in the sight from the tarmac and click off a few shots on their digi cams. Several members of the media, a Turkish rescue team, an Army PAO and myself are all waiting to hear what time we can hitch a flight out to St. Bernard on a Chinook helicopter. We were given a pre-flight briefing and Step 2 of the travel leg is nearly done. Next thing to do is to find a place to sleep in tonight.

2:00 PM — After nearly 20 minutes circling off the coast of St. Bernard we finally arrived at the St. Bernard base camp site. I gingerly make my way through the soft and mushy ground being careful not to keel over from all the weight I am carrying. As soon as I get closer to the camp, I see CNN’s Hugh Rimington discussing the situation with some other people. Out of nowhere I hear someone say, “Hey cuz!” It was Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, running around with CNN.

Tents are pitched all along the river bank. Four wheel drive vehicles compete with military vehicles for access on the narrow dirt road in and out of camp. It is disorganized organization and it’s difficult to ascertain who is in charge. The American presence is overwhelming. Fatigue green is the color of the day. Gigantic bladders with “Drinking Water” stenciled on it are attached to filtration systems. I went to look for the Philippine National Red Cross and their K-9 team and found them on a spot along the river next to the US medivac area. I immediately pitch Kath and Kevin’s tent next to the Red Cross’ tent. The sun was still out, but gray clouds were looming over the horizon and soon enough they would hit us. At about 3PM I leave base camp with two Red Cross volunteers to head out for Barangay Magatas.

The most immediate access way to the site is to cross the river; however, the walk is torturously long through mushy earth. We chose to access the site via Magatas from where we walked for about 30 minutes along a dirt road. As soon as we reached the periphery of the landslide area the change in scenery was striking. Officials estimate that about 20-30 metres of rock and earth blew out from the top of the mountain and buried . I was now looking straight into a barren landscape of volcanic soil and boulders instead of lush green rice fields and coconut covered slopes. Locals say that they heard rumblings that sounded like heavy machinery or helicopters before the mountain top exploded and spewed out what they thought was black smoke. It turned out to be soil and rocks which eventually rained down upon Guinsaugon.

We made our way to a site thought to have been the original location of a school house where over 200 children and their teachers were trapped in. Several rescue teams and experts had converged around the site and dug a deep hole had been dug up. A geologist team was scanning the area, but still no luck. Slowly I realize that no matter how sophisticated the equipment or how efficient a rescue dog’s sense of smell is, the amount of earth that has been piled atop this area is just way too much of a challenge for any of the experts or optimist to compete against.

Dusk was setting in and the Red Cross volunteers were recalled back to camp. We hitch a ride with a dump truck that was ferrying gravel. We needed to cross a river with a torrential current and got stuck in the middle. A US marine wades out and hitches us onto a tractor to pull us out of the current and we head back to base camp. Dinner was at the municipal gym which was taken over by the Red Cross as it base ops. I’ve had two bites from a protein bar all day and was feeling a wee bit hungry. Canned goods cut open with a spoon were passed around. After a long day in the heat and being on your feet all day long, a can Fiesta Ham (if that’s what it’s called) with rice is like a gourmet treat to cap off the day. It began to pour heavily in the late afternoon and everyone is drenched to the bone.

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Landslides seem to be the dominant event in the news in the Philippines this week. Yesterday, it was reported that heavy rains resulted in a landslide in Negros Oriental; the day before that another was reported in Zamboanga. However, it has been the landslide in St. Bernard in southern Leyte that has dominated the headlines. So massive was the destruction when the entire mountainside buried an entire village that it deflected attention away from the “Wowowee” stampede disaster about 2 weeks ago that it hardly figures in the local news anymore.

Rain and bad weather seems to be hanging over the disaster area making rescue efforts difficult. Search and rescue dogs from the Philippine Canine Search and Rescue Foundation, Inc. were deployed on Saturday morning. Bad weather forced the team to be transported by land rather than by helicopter and it took them nearly 6 hours to reach the area from Tacloban City. Text messages were flying around yesterday that 50 survivors were found. Unfortunately it was just a rumour and the possibility of finding survivors decrease exponentially everyday. Most are now searching for corpses instead. So far, 94 deaths have been confirmed with more than 1000 more listed as missing.

More sophisticated search equipment is needed to sift through and dig through all the mud and the debris. I guess, fortunately for the Philippines, US forces are in the country for “Balikatan” training exercises. Apparently a total of 5500 US troops are in the country for training exercises – 3000 have been re-deployed to Leyte to help local and international serach and rescue teams in the area.

I’ve just found out that I am scheduled out on a C-130 transport flight to Leyte at 7AM tomorrow morning. Hopefully this pans out. Apparently, that flight is being prioritized for the dependents/relatives of victims/survivors in Leyte. Seven other media personnel and 3 PAF personnel are also listed for the flight. Looks like step 1, getting there, is pretty much set. Step 2 is getting to St. Bernard from Tacloban. Step 3 – finding a place to sleep: well I’ll have to figure it out when I get there. I’m off to pack my sleeping bag and to borrow a tent.

Click here for photos

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