TACLOBAN CITY – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the 9th-anniversary commemoration of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), which struck the Philippines in 2013.
Following the solemn mass, the chief executive led the wreath-laying ceremony at the Holy Cross Memorial Garden, Tacloban City, alongside House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez.
Mayor Romualdez thanked the many individuals, organizations, and agencies that helped so that everyone could recover from the pain and suffering caused by Yolanda in his message. From the retrieval and recovery stages to the city's recovery, he expressed the President's unforgettable support, who was still a senator at the time.
Meanwhile, PBBM said that Tacloban gradually recovered from the tragedy due to the Filipino spirit.
According to him, the significance of this commemoration is to remember not only the over 6,000 people who were counted as dead in Yolanda, but also those who died without being counted, identified, or found. "I come here because I must commemorate those uncounted dead that up to now we do not know how many that number is. We must come to these commemorations so that we will remember those who we were told not to remember," PBBM said in his speech.
PBBM also stated that "Tacloban has rebuilt better" and continues to do so, giving everyone hope that the nation can become more resilient and ready to face any challenge together.
According to the Official Gazette (officialgazette.gov.ph), Super Typhoon 'Yolanda' struck the Philippines on November 8, 2013, and is considered the most powerful storm to make landfall in recorded history. It devastated large parts of the Visayas and other areas, affecting millions of families and killing over 6,000 people.
The commemoration is also an excellent opportunity to recognize the volunteers, organizations, government agencies, private sector groups, and international community members who came to the aid of the affected communities and contributed to their recovery and rehabilitation. —iTacloban (with reports from RTVM/TCIO)