THE WRATH of Typhoon Tino in the 4th and 5th congressional districts of Negros Occidental was truly beyond narratives.
Seeing with my own eyes the devastation Tino left behind — particularly the horrific floods that ravaged the towns/cities of Binalbagan, Moises Padilla, La Castellana, Isabela, Hinigaran, La Carlota, Pontevedra, and Bago — I couldn’t help but shed silent tears.
These were undoubtedly the worst-hit areas in the province when Tino struck on November 4.
I silently thanked God for sparing me from such a terrifying ordeal.
Watching people beg on the streets, washing mud-soaked clothes and belongings, and trying to salvage their battered appliances broke my heart even more.
Life after Tino for the people of the 4th and 5th districts is miserable beyond words.
Across Negros Occidental, 66 deaths have been recorded — with many still missing as of this writing.
Like Disaster Movies
Listening to the accounts of 5th District’s Rep. Dino Yulo and Moises Padilla’s Vice Mayor Pimpoy Yulo felt like watching a disaster movie — reminiscent of the South Korean film The Wave (2014) or the Spanish film The Impossible (2012).
Floodwaters reportedly rose as high as 12 feet, forcing families to seek refuge on rooftops. Vehicles — cars, trucks, and motorcycles — were swept away, while people and animals alike were drowned. It was a scene beyond imagination.
Both Rep. Yulo and Vice Mayor Yulo said it was the first time they had ever witnessed such a deluge.
“Peerless. Horrible,” they both said.
Quoting old residents of Moises Padilla, Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo said Tino’s floods were the worst since Typhoon Seniang in 1968.
With floodwaters reaching the height of a one-story building, she noted that had the flooding occurred at night or dawn, thousands might have perished.
Thanks to the Dead
In neighboring La Castellana — where 13 people died and 14 others remain missing — Vice Mayor Mhai-Mhai Nicor-Mangilimutan offered an unusual but heartfelt gratitude to the town’s dead.
Their public cemetery, she said, acted as a barrier that blocked the raging floods filled with cut logs.
“If not for the cemetery,” she reflected, “perhaps thousands in the poblacion would also have died.”
Mayor Añejo Nicor added that, according to his father, former mayor and now councilor Alberto “Bordig” Nicor, Tino’s floods were even worse than those of 1952.
Valleys of Cut Logs
In Barangay Roberto Salas Benedicto (RSB) in La Carlota, the valley was littered with cut logs — a disturbing sight for residents.
Barangay Captain Socrates Martin Guba said he could hardly believe what happened in their area.
RSB native RJ Dejilla, 23, described it as “the worst disaster ever.”
Water and Mud
Binalbagan Mayor Emmanuel Aranda was equally shocked at the extent of water and mud that “swallowed” all 16 of their barangays.
It was the first time he had seen such devastation in their town, already known as the “catch basin” of floodwaters coming from five towns and cities in both Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.
Binalbagan recorded the highest number of affected individuals — more than 81,000 as of November 9.
‘Hurt and Wounded’
Environmental watchdogs Green Alert Network (GAN) and the Group of Environmental Socialists (GOES), Inc. offered a grim but relatable assessment:
Negros’ “green giants” — the North Negros Natural Park (NNNP) and Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park (MKNP) — are “hurt and wounded.”
They explained that the worst flooding and the influx of hot logs came from the slopes of Mt. Kanlaon and surrounding areas in central Negros.
According to Rusty Biñas, founder of GAN, Negros Island currently retains only 4% of its original 533,238 hectares of forest cover — a deficit of roughly 480,000 hectares.
Specifically, NNNP has retained only 20% of its 16,687-hectare forest, while MKNP retains just 36.6% of its 9,000 hectares.
Hush-Hush Illegal Logging
Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Yulo suspects illegal logging activities inside MKNP.
“The swept-away cut logs are the evidence,” she said.
Former Negros Occidental governor Lito Coscolluela also urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to reassess MKNP’s flora and fauna, particularly their capacity to absorb water.
DENR-Negros Island Region Director Charlie Fabre has vowed to investigate the reported illegal logging.
Nature’s Resbak
After dissecting all the narratives surrounding Tino and its killer floods, one conclusion becomes clear: nature is fighting back.
In local parlance — it’s resbak.
This reality is alarming and deadly if left unaddressed. The escalating impacts on humans and the environment serve as a grim warning.
When nature retaliates, it does so painfully — masakit, as we say.
Tino was more than a storm; it was a wake-up call for Negrenses to take better care of their environment. It was a moment to pause, reflect, and confront the existential threat facing humanity — or worse, the potential collapse of Mother Earth herself, beyond rescue.
Scary, indeed./PN
