Thur| 10.13.2022 | 4:00 PM

A large cross stands as a marker in a spot where some of the victims of a landslide in Barangay Kantagnos, Baybay City, Leyte were buried.

Rogelio Managbanag, Jr. (2nd from right) and his neighbors point at the spot where their homes used to stand before the tragic landslide that claimed hundreds of lives in a village in Baybay City, Leyte.

A gym buried under the mud and other debris serves as a grim picture of the tragedy that struck Barangay Kantagnos in Baybay City on April 10, 2022.

BAYBAY, Leyte – The families of close to 200 individuals who either perished or disappeared following a landslide in a village here in April received financial assistance from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). The distribution of cash aid was held at the city’s gymnasium from October 11 to 13, 2022.

PAGCOR released P5.5 million or P30,000 to each fatality case. The cash donations were handed to the victims’ surviving kin. The victims perished when incessant heavy rains brought by Typhoon Agaton on April 10, 2022 caused a huge portion of a mountain bounding Barangay Kantagnos and other small communities to cave in and bury the entire village under slosh of mud and other debris.

Former caregiver Rogelio Managbanag, Jr., who lost ten of his family members, seven of whom were never found, received a total of P300,000 from the state-run gaming firm. Managbanag was working in Manila and had never seen his family in five years when the tragedy struck at around 6 a.m. on that fateful day.

“Tumutok ako sa FB (Facebook) at nakibalita sa nangyayari dito nang bumagyo. Noong una, hindi ako nag-alala dahil mataas ang lugar namin at ang sabi babahain lang ng kaunti bunga ng tuluy-tuloy na malakas na pag-ulan. Nagulat na lang ako nang may magsabing nagkaroon ng landslide at natabunan ang lugar namin,” he narrated.

Managbanag got the shock of his life when he was informed later that his parents and other loved ones were among the fatalities in the landslide.

“Nang panahong iyon, kinuwestiyon ko ang Diyos. Ang sabi ko, lahat kami maka-Diyos, lalo na ang mga magulang ko. Bakit kinakailangang maging biktima sila ng ganoong trahedya? ‘Yung tatay ko, 2017 ko pa huling nakasama nang magbakasyon ako at sa video call lang kami nagkikita at nagkakausap. May nagsabing natagpuan siya at nakilala sa pamamagitan ng tattoo niya sa braso at isinama sa mass grave dahil naaagnas na ang katawan niya,” he recalled while trying to hold back his tears.

PAGCOR’s Assistant VP for Community Relations and Services Eric Balcos, who led the distribution of cash assistance to the recipients, said the agency’s provision of financial aid to the families of the landslide victims was meant to assuage the burden of losing their loved ones and help them start afresh in life.

“No amount of cash could actually compensate the loss of a family member especially in a tragic incident, but in our own little way, we would like to help the surviving kin of the landslide victims go on with their lives, hence this financial assistance from our agency,” he explained.

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