House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Monday said the lessons learned after super typhoon Yolanda hit the country in 2013 are now part of Filipinos' resilience.
"As we commemorate the ninth anniversary of Yolanda that battered the country, most especially Eastern Visayas, we honor and offer prayers to those who perished during this unfortunate event, as we raise our glasses to the brave souls, our first responders, who put the lives of others above their own during the onslaught of the super typhoon,” Romualdez said in a statement.
“This resilience is borne in part by the sacrifices of our first responders, our unity in the face of adversity, and our propensity for compassion toward our fellow citizens in times of calamities,” he added.
The House Speaker also said that the lessons from the tragedy continued to guide the country's calamity response and it further highlighted the capacity to unite and help one another.
“While it is very difficult to forget the horrors we faced during Yolanda, the important thing is we learned from this harrowing experience,” he said.
Super typhoon Yolanda, whose international name is Haiyan, battered the country on Nov. 8, 2013. Today marks its 9th year Anniversary.
Yolanda left 3.42 million damaged households, with 6,300 casualties and 1,061 individual missings, according to the data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Center (NDRRMC).
Tacloban was the hard-hit area by the typhoon. It was considered “ground zero” due to the devastation it sustained.
The local government of Tacloban first suspended work in the government and classes at all levels today to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the super typhoon onslaught.
Other local government units in Eastern Visayas including Palo, San Isidro, and Carigara in Leyte and Marabut in Samar also suspended work and classes.
