Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), which is considered one of the strongest typhoons in the planet, did not leave the country without causing heartbreaks and pains to most of our Filipino countrymen. Thousands of lives were lost, multi-million-peso properties were destroyed, especially in the hardly-hit areas, Tacloban in Leyte, Cebu, Ilo-ilo, Antique and Palawan, among others.

In Tacloban City alone, around 10,000 people are feared dead. The city is still without a line of communication and many roads remain impassable as of this posting. Several other towns in the whole province of Leyte cannot be reached by other means of transportation except by chopper and by boat — thus, food supplies and other relief goods cannot be easily brought to the areas.

In my home province of Palawan, the island towns of Coron (with over 1,200 families affected) and Taytay where my parents and brothers live (has around 1,600 families affected), according to the Palawan Information Agency.

Tourism land marks have been destroyed, including the giant cross in Coron’s Mount Tapias. The towns are now under state of calamity.

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