THE Yolanda Village relocation site in Barangay Polambato in Bogo City, a symbol of recovery for families displaced by super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013, has become the epicenter of grief after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck northern Cebu on Tuesday night, Sept. 30, 2025.
Seven residents, including a pregnant woman and five children, perished when an apartment building collapsed in the community. Survivors described a night of terror as walls crumbled and cries for help echoed in the darkness.
“We could do nothing but scream and pray,” recalled resident Romeo Minggabon, speaking to SunStar Cebu in Cebuano. “We feared we would be buried too. The bodies were only retrieved the next morning.”
Among the dead was a family of four — parents and two children —leaving behind three surviving siblings now orphaned by the disaster.
For many in Yolanda Village, the tragedy is a cruel reminder of the fragility of life in communities still struggling to rebuild from past calamities.
A father’s agony
The devastation was not confined to Polambato. In nearby Barangay Binabag, a father returned home from Cebu City only to find the lifeless bodies of his two children, wrapped in bags after a landslide crushed their home. His wife survived with injuries, but the family’s grief was immeasurable.
The father, weeping as he appealed for government aid, now faces the daunting task of rebuilding his life while mourning the loss of his children.
A volunteer’s personal loss
Even those who came to help were not spared. Red Cross volunteer Margie Baterna was on duty when she learned that their Emergency Medical Services (EMS) head, whom she described as “like family,” had died in the quake.
The EMS head was killed when a firewall collapsed on their home. In his final act, he shielded his youngest child with his own body, saving the child’s life at the cost of his own, according to Baterna.
Coast Guard casualties
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) also confirmed the deaths of three of its personnel — Seaman Second Class Lawrence Palomo, Apprentice Seaman Jujay Mahusay and Apprentice Seaman Ert Cart Dacunes — after the San Remigio Sports Complex collapsed during the tremor.
“They served with dedication and camaraderie,” said PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, who assured that the families of the fallen would receive full support.
A community in mourning
Across northern Cebu, grief is layered upon grief: children lost and families bereaved.
For survivors, the call is now for urgent government assistance, not only to bury the dead and heal the wounded, but to rebuild lives once again shaken by disaster. The tremors may have passed, but their echoes will reverberate through these communities for years to come. / CAV, JJL