Natonin, Mountain Province– A year after the disaster that gravely affected this municipality, the Department of Public Works and Highways-Mountain Province Second District Engineering Office, together with the families and friends of the victims gathered at the former office of the MPSDEO on October 30, 2019 to commemorate the 1st year anniversary of the tragedy and to remember the 28 brave men who died during the onslaught of Typhoon Rosita. A memorial marker bearing the names of the 28 victims was also blessed and unveiled at the site.
On October 30, 2018 a major landslide occurred at Sitio Hakrang in Barangay Banawel, Natonin pushing away the buildings of the MPSDEO, the national highway and damaging nearby houses. During the retrieval operations which lasted for weeks, 28 dead bodies were recovered while 6 were declared missing.
This was attended by the staff and personnel of the MPSDEO led by District Engineer Rustom Martiñez, Natonin Mayor Jose Agagon, Barlig Mayor Clark Ngaya, the community and barangay officials.
Earlier, a holy mass was concelebrated by Fr. Ferdinand Fulatao, Fr. Russel Habungan, Father Emil Adawe, Father Ervin Uden of the Roman Catholic Church and Fr. Johnny Ambucay of the Anglican Church. Fr. Habungan in his homily said it is important to commemorate the event and gather as a Christian community to comfort and give prayerful support to the families and friends who lost their loved ones. “The Lord is kind and merciful, let us be comforted today because one year after the sad incident, we have come here as one Christian community to pray for the repose of their souls,” he added.
A short program followed after the mass with District Engineer Martinez sharing his experience at the time of the catastrophe while Mayor Agagon also narrated how the people of Natonin residing in Manila and other parts of the country had to rush home to offer help. Meanwhile, Mr. Agwilang said that though such commemoration is one event that is not worth celebrating, it is but a celebration of new life because of the comforting stories shared by the witnesses, family members and survivors. A few engineers including Vice Mayor Christopher Bayowan and other survivors were also present to share their memories and experiences. **Cairo Bondad