Havoc by Typhoon Frank
From Day 1 to Day 5 during their visit to Wellisa Farms in Bantayan Island, we saw how the NICPAI members cling to each other. We were supposed to leave on Day 2 (Friday), but typhoon Frank prevented us until noon of Day 4 (Sunday).
Before the typhoon started to batter Bantayan Island in the evening of Friday, most of the NICPAI members, except Delson and his room mate, left the beach resort where we were billeted to take a look around Sta. Fe town. At around 6 pin, the group called Delson to join them for dinner outside the resort. We were also asked to join the group 30 minutes after. And so we obliged.
Early on Saturday morning, some of them already had news about the damage inflicted by the typhoon on their properties. They knew for sure that since the typhoon passed through their place, their crops have been damaged. In addition to that, some of them had severely damaged properties. Even as the waves were still high, all of them were raring to go home to save whatever they can.
Ruth, for instance, was informed by her husband that water was more than a meter high in their house. Their Elf and 10wheeler trucks were almost under water. We could see how worried she was, and the other members tried to console her.
Jose was also so worried about the condition of his house in Sara, as he brought his family to Iloilo City before he left for Cebu and no one was there to take care of their property. Vema requested his brothers to see what happened and was told that his cargo trucks were also under water.
Over breakfast, lunch and dinner, the only conversation topic was the typhoon and its damage especially in Sara, Iloilo. We also learned that Wellisa Farms, the biggest franchisee of Novatech, also had its share of the havoc brought by typhoon Frank. Wellington Chanlim, the owner, said about one-third of one of his layer farms was knocked down. His only consolation was that the damage was not as bad as the neighboring poultry farms.
We saw the great change on the faces of the NICPAI members on Sunday morning after breakfast when we were finally told that we could already leave for Cebu. It was only then when they started to smile, and was even wider when they left the hotel on early Monday morning to catch up the plane to Iloilo City.
