TYPHOON SENDONG

Retribution and Absolution: A Time for Leniency and Indemnity

Roy Anthony L. Ceniza 8C
Weeks before the much awaited holiday of the entire year, the most
destructive and the most abominable storm hit the northern part of Mindanao where
hundreds upon thousands of innocent people were left dumbfounded and utterly
astonished. The raging storm brought terrible floods and strong winds that heavily
damaged millions of houses, and uprooted trees, leaving the citizens of both Iligan
and Cagayan de Oro City homeless for the holidays. Thousands experienced
problems with the water supply, resulting to more drastic problems for Northern
Mindanao including the widespread of leptospirosis and the growing number of
stagnant bodies of water that sheltered dengue-carrying mosquitoes, endangering
the lives of multitudinous children who have constantly longed for nothing more
than a peaceful and momentous Christmas. Not even a single word in the English
dictionary could begin to describe a catastrophe as big as this-it was a calamity of
truly biblical proportions.
Though the ravaging cyclone that hit Northern Mindanao a few weeks ago
was of Mother Natures own thinking, the heavy floods that desecrated the entire
province of both Iligan and Cagayan de Oro right after the storm was mans own
doing. We can never blame Mother Earth for huge flashfloods, not unless theyre as
big as tsunamis. Illegal logging and continuous deforestation are two of the main
factors that have aggravated these floods. If we were innovative and prudent
enough, we couldve easily dodged one of the most devastating calamities in the
history of the Philippines. If trees were not constantly cut down, and if seedlings
were continuously planted on a daily basis, Typhoon Sendong would have only
smeared the face of Mindanao and left with a frown; we were downright reckless.
But despite the fact that we are
dissimilar beliefs and religions, and
triumphantly managed to reach out
sisters, especially those who have
numerous others that have ruthlessly
hemisphere.

secluded by thousands of islands, codified by

pigeonholed to distinctive races, we have
to our ostensibly devastated brothers and
fallen victim to countless calamities and
ransacked the entire region of the Philippine

As students of a Catholic school that holistically values equal rights and

incorporates every Gospel value known to man in each subject present in the
curriculum, we are honestly flabbergasted and utterly devastated by the current
status of both Iligan and Cagayan de Oro City. Guiltless lives were killed and
numerous animals got washed away in angry waters leaving victims totally helpless
and emotionally weak. As both peacemakers and animal-welfarists at heart, the
least we can all do to uphold peace and justice to the lost and to those who have
lost is through offering our heartfelt prayers to God. We want nothing more but to
see a peaceful world where both humans, as well as animals, can live hand-in-hand
harmoniously in a hazard-free environment. We are but a fraction of the entire
human race, but we can make a difference.