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FAQ.ph is where you can read interesting facts, answers and frequently asked questions about the Philippines, its places, events and people.

In Pictures: Guiuan Eastern Samar, a Year after Yolanda

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public-market-guiuan-improvement

Guiuananons looking at the poster which shows the government’s accomplishments on the rehabilitation of Guiuan Public Market.

If Tacloban City in Leyte is considered by many as the ground zero of Super Typhoon Yolanda (International name: Haiyan), Guiuan in Eastern Samar is known as the point of Haiyan’s first landfall in the Philippines. It was at 4:40 a.m. on November 8, 2013 when Guiuananons felt the wrath of Yolanda, with maximum sustained winds of 235 kph and gustiness of up to 275 kph that killed a hundred of them. Although most of Guiuan did not experience the great storm surges that killed thousands of people in Leyte, the town suffered the strongest winds that destroyed its buildings and infrastructures.

Now, after one year since the devastation occurred, how is Guiuan now? Here are some photos I took around the town and nearby places on 6 and 7 November 2014 which will give us a glance of Guiuan a year after Yolanda. [Read more…]

Where did the Billion-Dollar Foreign Aid for Haiyan Survivors Go?

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(The tents at San Jose, Tacloban City where some survivors are still getting temporary shelters as of August 9, 2014)

Not only Haiyan (Yolanda) survivors but all the concerned Filipinos and foreign nationals are asking… where did all the international donations for Yolanda victims go? Did the funds reach the Haiyan survivors or not?

As a Haiyan Survivor myself, I’m also curious to the answer of those questions above. But with our government where Freedom of Information (FOI) is not a law yet, getting clear answers is like getting information that can only be found on another planet.

Nevertheless, let’s try to get some ideas that can somehow satisfy our curios minds.

If you’re also wondering where did those funds go, here are 10 things you should know: [Read more…]

Haiyan Update and the Lives of Survivors (See Pictures 9 Months After Yolanda)

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Tacloban Pier August 2014

Nine months after Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) devastated the central part of the Philippines, there are already changes that we can see. I went to Basey Samar, Tacloban City and Palo Leyte on August 9 and 10 to take pictures and update the Filipinos and the world nine months after Haiyan struck us on November 8 last year.

After nine months, I have observed and realized the following while I was touring the areas affected by Haiyan and having conversations with the survivors. [Read more…]

15 Things Only Haiyan Survivors will Completely Understand

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Having experienced Haiyan’s gusting wind, deadly storm surge, and the horror it brought to our region, several realizations came in to my life, and I know that other Haiyan survivors also share the same sentiments as I do. The havoc caused by Haiyan (local name Yolanda) was not only felt by the locals who actually witnessed it, but also by the people all over the world who kept their eyes on that terrible and heartbreaking news.

However, there are still many things about Haiyan that only us, the survivors, will fully realize. In order to let the world understand us deeper on what we had been through, here are some things that I want to share to everyone. [Read more…]

7 Big Lessons in Life I Learned as a Haiyan Survivor

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“The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.”
– Edward Kennedy

Super typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda is one of the strongest storms ever recorded in world history. Unfortunately, this natural catastrophe had left Leyte, Samar, and other affected areas a lot of casualties, causing grief and misery among Filipino people. Although my experience is dreadful whenever I think of it, it’s not impossible to think that this calamity had also taught us some valuable lessons in life. The following lessons I learned have even made me stronger and more understanding about life, itself. [Read more…]

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FAQ.ph stands for Facts, Answers and Questions about the Philippines. It is an online place where you can read interesting facts, useful answers and frequently asked questions about our country, its places, events and people. Our mission is to share stories that will help Filipinos and the world gain knowledge about everything in the Philippines, including its beautiful spots, rich history, unique society, and solutions towards the nation's progress.

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