‘I lost three cousins in typhoon’

A Filipino has told of his heartbreak at losing three cousins in Typhoon Haiyan.

Alex Alferez, a software engineer at Bermuda Commercial Bank, is grieving for two teenagers and a boy who died in the Category Five storm. One of them, 19-year-old Intoy, was killed while trying to rescue Mr Alferez’s aunt, Manang Caring, from the family home. He and his five-year-old brother were crushed by a falling tree as they tried to lead her to safety.

Mr Alferez said Intoy (full name Mark Leo) had just taken his CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exams, during which time he stayed at the family home in Laguna: “We live about an hour south of Manila and he stayed with us for a week. Intoy comes from a poor family and he was asking about me being in Bermuda and whether I could help him to get a job with one of the accountancy companies here. He said, ‘Maybe kuya (brother) Alex can help me if I am able to finish school’, and was saying how he wanted to help the family get out of poverty.”

Intoy lived in Dapdap, a barangay (village) north of Tacloban, in Alangalang province, Leyte: “During the typhoon he was trying to help my aunt, Manang Caring, get out of the house and to the evacuation centre at the school. She is about 70 and can barely walk. But there was a big tree that fell on him, smashing him to the ground. He was holding my five-year-old cousin’s hand and both of them died.

“I also have a cousin who drowned in the flood waters. He was about 13 and we haven’t found his body yet.  A lot of people went to the Coliseum (concert hall), as an evacuation centre, but the flood came up to the first floor and a lot of the kids died.” Mr Alferez, 40, of Warwick, said: “It’s devastating for me because we didn’t even get the chance to mourn their bodies.” He explained that bodies recovered since the typhoon are being buried in mass graves.

“It’s heartbreaking not to be able to see them (the cousins), to say goodbye. But there are no hospitals any more, and no embalmers, so they are probably afraid that disease will spread. So, whenever they see a dead body they just wrap it in plastic and throw it into the ground.

Mr Alferez did however receive welcome news yesterday that three aunts who were missing — Manang Caring, Leticia and Fe, have been located alive: “For several days we never heard anything, but this morning we finally had some communication with the village,” he said.

“It is such a relief that my aunts and the other children are okay.”

But he is concerned that food and other supplies are not reaching his relatives in Dapdap. He said aid was only trickling through to the municipality of Alangalang and its 54 villages.

“The international agencies are sending relief supplies but they are not getting through to some places because of blocked roads. People seem to be focusing on Tacloban but the surrounding villages were also badly affected. 

Mr Alferez, who has lived in Bermuda for five years, said he is “trying to raise funds to help people back home.” He plans to sing a solo at a fundraising concert at St Theresa’s Church on December 1. He is also urging islanders to support the appeal by the Association of Filipinos in Bermuda.

“It’s more important than ever to donate, to help the survivors. There are reports that survivors may die within a week because there is no food... please help these people. I am very grateful to Bermudians; they are very generous. I have many friends and work colleagues who are sympathetic. They give me hugs and ask if there is anything I need. I am very grateful.”