16/10/2025
“Masbate’s immediate battle for response is closing soon, but the struggle for long-term recovery is only beginning. Recovery and rehabilitation is a less visible and more complicated process that will require intense work on housing, schools, hospitals and health centers, power, water and telecommunication, public buildings, and more importantly, restoring and improving lives and livelihoods.”
Walking through the streets of Masbate just two days after Typhoon Bualoi or Opong struck the province last month, I saw my hometown as I had never seen it before: roofless houses, toppled powerlines,