Friday, September 29, 2006 Candabeños not worried as typhoon Milenyo hit province By Joel P. Mapiles
CANDABA -- While most Kapampangans were probably panicking as typhoon Milenyo hit the province Thursday, Candabeños were as cool as ice.
Candabeños were not “caught flat-footed” with the hoisting of storm signal three typhoon, as they practiced first and foremost the attitude of being extra prepared in times of calamities and uncertainties.
This holds true as thousands of residents here were not alarmed by the heavy downpour brought by the typhoon. They instead consider the rains as nothing but an ordinary situation.
Mang Poncing of Barangay San Agustin said they are always ready. In fact, their houses are on stilts.
“Every household has its own banca. Children two to three years old are being given informal swimming lessons -- not in the pool but in five to 10 feet of floodwaters. Food and rice are stored for rainy seasons. Hand tractors are being prepared in case the roads are not passable for jitneys and motorized tricycles,” Mang Poncing, in the vernacular, said.
This describes the resiliency and responsiveness of Candabeños in times of calamity, as Mang Poncing said they truly believe that there is no substitute for good preparation.
They believe that if somebody -- or a disaster agency for that matter -- wants to learn more on disaster preparedness, they should study in the “school of vast experience” of the people here.
It is a fact that everywhere, people are alarmed when rain pours and 2 to 3 feet of floodwaters emerge in their areas.
However, this is not the way Candabeños react to this kind of situation. Before flood surfaces in the swamp due to a heavy downpour, they start to prepare their fishing gears, boats, flashlights, and foods for fishing expedition, as it is expected that they would get more fish catch.
This shows the resiliency and flexibility of the people in dealing with flood. They consider the annual flooding not as a perennial problem but a way of life.
The Candabeños accept the fact that they cannot escape from it because Candaba is naturally a catch basin – nature’s gift. They understand that in times of flood, the only thing they can do is to live in harmony with nature.
It can be observed that in some barangays particularly in San Agustin, this town, the residents are not used to leaving their houses submerged under 10 to 15 feet of floodwaters. They consider flooding as a source of life. In this way and belief, Candabeños have learned to adapt and live with the situation.
“Flooding is not a disaster if you are physically, mentally and materially equipped and prepared. This could only be a disaster if you don’t know how to adapt with the situation and you are not prepared and caught flatfooted,” said Mang Celo, a resident here.
Mayor Jerry Pelayo is always saying over national radio and television during calamity periods that Candaba is not in need of relief goods as a variety of local fish emerge in the swamp.
In spite of this, Candaba received a number of relief assistance last year, because hundreds of donors appreciated the resiliency and the way Candabeños behave, deal and prepare themselves in any given situation.
With the turn of events last year, Candaba has managed to share their excess relief goods to other nearby municipalities.
In terms of infrastructure, the Municipal Government is advanced in rehabilitating the seven-kilometer Malisik dike to avoid annual breaching, that wreaks havoc to rice lands.
Pelayo has also mobilized the municipal disaster council to conduct a 24-hour monitoring and immediately respond in case of emergencies.
It can be surmised that the government agencies should only assist this municipality not on the augmentation of relief goods but in the rehabilitation of roads, dikes and irrigations.
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