NINE days after twin high-intensity earthquakes shook this eastern province, residents of Davao Oriental are still reeling — their homes cracked, livelihoods disrupted, and nerves tested by more than a thousand aftershocks. Yet amid fear and uncertainty, the spirit of survival endures.
The powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck off Manay on October 10, followed by a 6.8-magnitude tremor hours later, left a trail of devastation across the province, even claiming nine lives. According to data from the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental, at least 176,906 families were affected, and 11,381 houses were either totally or partially damaged across 11 municipalities and one city.
The towns of Baganga, Caraga, Manay, and Cateel suffered the heaviest destruction, with thousands of families forced to sleep in makeshift tents or evacuation centers.
‘We’re victims too, but we keep working’
Some of the quake’s survivors have had to put aside their own losses to serve others.
“Biktima man sad mi, Ma’am. Pero kinahanglan gihapon namo magpadayon sa trabaho,” said a policewoman from Mati City, who asked not to be named. (“We’re victims too, Ma’am. But we still have to keep working.”)
She was on hospital duty when the tremors struck. “Naa gihapon mga aftershocks, pero kaluoy sa Diyos, padayon mi niya ginaprotektahan (There are still aftershocks, but by God’s mercy, He continues to protect us),” she added.
For many like her, the work continues, even with cracks in their own walls and fear lingering beneath their feet.
Teachers on the frontline
In Manay, one of the hardest-hit towns, Edmar Audan Mondabon, a teacher and athletics coach at Evaristo Vocational High School, recalled the chaos when the earthquake hit just as students were returning from recess.
“Recess man tong higayuna, wala’y klase pa ato. Nagsugod pa lang balik mga estudyante (It was recess at that time, and there were no classes yet. The students were just starting to return),” he said.
He and other teachers immediately led the students out into the open grounds. “I just made sure my wife and child in Davao City were safe,” he said. “Nagvideo-call man mi sa akong asawa samtang gipang-evacuate namo mga bata. Salamat sa Diyos gyud nga sipti sab sila (I was on a video call with my wife while we were evacuating the students. Thank God they’re safe too).”
Mondabon’s family home in Barangay Rizal sustained major cracks, and their kitchen collapsed.
In his Poblacion residence, the flooring cracked. “Mapuy-an pa man gihapon, Ma’am. Pero kung kinahanglan gyud mi mag-evacuate, wala gyud mi’y choice (It’s still livable, Ma’am. But if we really need to evacuate, we won’t have a choice),” he added.
With classes shifting to blended learning due to safety concerns, Mondabon continues teaching despite unstable network signals and intermittent power. “Pero padayon lang gihapon ko og tudlo nila (But I still kept on teaching them),” he said.
Life amid the aftershocks
The teacher said the shortage of potable water remains a serious problem.
According to him, the main problem residents in Manay are facing is the lack of potable water. Fortunately, the Philippine National Red Cross has been distributing water in quake-affected areas, and they have also been receiving relief donations that include bottled drinking water.
“Abunda man hinuon mi’g mga riverbanks diri po, so ang uban ngadto managan para maligo. We actually have plenty of riverbanks here, so some people ran there to bathe),” he said.
In Mati City, a restaurant worker shared how her family struggles after the quake disrupted their main source of income.
“Dili man makapamasada ang akong bana, wala man sad pasahero. Mag-isa na pud ka semana lagi. Naglisod gyud mi (My husband can’t drive his route because there are no passengers. It’s been almost a week now. We’re really struggling),” she said in a recent interview with SunStar Davao.
Still, she said she’s thankful that her family is safe and that she can continue to work. “Naanad naman lang mi sa mga aftershocks (We’ve gotten used to the aftershocks),” she said softly. “Sige lang gyud mi’g ampo (But we keep praying).”
Fear and faith
When the first tremor struck, many residents thought it would pass quickly, until the ground began to roar.
“Nangurog gyud ang yuta, mura’g nagisi. Nagdali mi’g gawas, nangita og bakante nga lote (The ground shook like it was tearing apart. We ran to an open space),” said a 24-year-old government worker from Barangay Central, Manay.
Living near the coast, he said his family fled barefoot in the dark. “Nigawas mi kay dool ra mig dagat... hilom sya, nahadlok mi basig naay tsunami (We went outside because we live near the sea. The water was unusually calm, and we got scared — we thought a tsunami might come),” he recalled.
Price freeze and government response
To stabilize prices of essential goods in affected towns, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 11 has enforced an automatic 60-day price freeze under the Price Act of 1992.
“Business establishments must strictly observe the price freeze to maintain stability of basic and prime commodities,” said DTI 11 Supervising Development Specialist Tarcelo C. Pepito Jr.
DTI is coordinating with local governments and its provincial office to mobilize price monitoring teams in Manay, Tarragona, Caraga, and Cateel, now under a state of calamity. Pepito said the agency is also monitoring prices in nearby municipalities that felt the quakes but are not under the declaration.
Resilience among ruins
Across the province, daily life resumes in fragments — children play barefoot on cracked basketball courts, women wash clothes by the river, and men patch roofs with salvaged nails and wood.
At dawn, a fisherman from Caraga, his boat damaged by the tremors, still heads out to sea. “Diri gyud mi natawo. Kung unsa man ang mahitabo, diri pud mi mamatay (We were born here. Whatever happens, this is where we’ll die),” he said quietly.
Though the ground continues to rumble, the people of Davao Oriental rise each day — shaken, scarred, but steadfast. MLSA/DEF