by Arianne Betita, Segment Producer

I’ve been to La Union a couple of times… But my coverage of Pepeng’s aftermath in La Union was unlike any of my previous visits to that province.

It was by far my most memorable trip to that area, primarily because we traveled with Ma’am Jess, who served as our tour guide.

More than anything else, it wasn’t like any typical tour because instead of sightseeing… we drove around La Union and saw the devastation that typhoon Pepeng left behind.

My researcher and I prepared a travel itinerary… But since Ma’am Jess was more familiar with her hometown, we allowed her to lead the convoy en route to La Union.

The trip to her hometown wasn’t easy… We had to re-route a couple of times because there were a lot of impassable roads, and the view of Pepeng’s aftermath didn’t make the long ride any less difficult.

Despite my lack of personal connection to that province, I can’t help but feel sad for the victims of typhoon Pepeng. There was destruction and devastation everywhere. Bridges connecting provinces were destroyed, houses near the river were still covered in mud, and residents were left to deal with heaps of trash.

In a way, Pepeng also incapacitated the Ilokanos when he wiped out their sources of livelihood – their fish pens and their rice fields.

But the most depressing part of this coverage was interviewing a father who lost more than their property… He also lost his family in a landslide that buried his wife and his kids alive.

I can just imagine how this experience must have been for Ma’am Jess, considering that this was the place where she grew up and these victims are her kababayans.

But despite the extent of the damage we saw, I don’t think it will take long for these people to pick up the pieces and resume with their normal lives…

Because even though my team and I saw how Pepeng destroyed most of Pangasinan and La Union, we also witnessed how the locals chose to rise above this tragedy.

We heard stories of unity from inmates who helped each other survive the flash flood, and surprisingly none of them tried to escape even after their prison walls were destroyed…

We heard stories of heroism from embalmers who walked in the flood for hours just to be able to clean the dead bodies in isolated areas…

And we heard stories of resourcefulness in times of need.

And then I realized that Pepeng’s wrath is no match for the Filipino spirit.

It’s actually during times like these when one understands how resilient Filipinos are. We continue to survive despite the consecutive calamities being thrown into our country.

With this positive attitude, I have no doubt that the Ilokanos will overcome this crisis. And I just can’t wait to see La Union get back on its feet again.