The Philippines--and Leyte in particular--has "fully recovered" from the wrath of super typhoon "Yolanda".
House Speaker and Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez made this declaration Monday afternoon, Nov. 7--the eve of the 9th anniversary of the unforgettable tragedy.
“We have recovered fully from Yolanda, and this is a testament to the Filipinos’ resiliency. Whatever calamity we will face – and surely there will be in the future – we can overcome because of this resiliency and our sincere compassion toward our fellow Filipinos," Romualdez said in a statement.
“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,” said Romualdez, himself a Yolanda victim.
“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,” added the House leader.
Yolanda (international name Haiyan), considered Category 5 typhoon, is one of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the country.
It struck Eastern Visayas on Nov. 8, 2013, and leveled most of whatever structure was standing in the region. This was especially true in Tacloban City, Leyte, which practically served as ground zero of the disaster.
The Yolanda death toll was pegged at over 6,000.
“While it is very difficult to forget the horrors we faced during Yolanda, the important thing is we learned from this harrowing experience. And if we learned from this tragedy, we continue to honor those who perished and those who willingly sacrificed their lives for the benefit of others,” Romualdez said.