Villagers displaced by Typhoon \u201cPablo\u201d in two towns in Davao Oriental, one of the worst hit provinces, will be displaced again from Mati National High School here as education officials want the school emptied of at least 158 evacuees by today to prepare the school for the resumption of classes on Jan. 2.
\nIt leaves Rodelo Aporbo, his wife and two children wondering where to go next after staying in the school for the last 20 days.
\nSocial welfare workers had listed two options for the evacuees\u2014return to their devastated hometowns in Cateel and Baganga or move to another evacuation center that has not been identified yet.
\nIf they opt to return home, the government promised to give them tents, work and six months\u2019 worth of food ration.
\nAporbo, however, is not convinced. He wants to stay. \u201cWe cannot go back there. There is nothing there for us,\u201d he told the Inquirer.
\nAporbo\u2019s home is the village of Poo in Baganga town where he said \u201cit is so hot that the children get sick.\u201d
\nPoo is a 14-hectare islet. At least seven of its 500 residents were killed when Pablo struck on Dec. 4. Most of its residents have either evacuated to the mainland or to Mati City.
\n\u201cThere are no trees there. There are no shades. The children are ill with cough and colds,\u201d said Aporbo. \u201cIf we go back there, the more we will suffer,\u201d he added.
\nLuzviminda Verba, another evacuee, feels the same. Her house in the village of Kinabalangan is now upside down, torn from its lot by the storm.
\nWhile willing to return to her village, Verba said it was not yet time. \u201cThe water there is not safe for drinking,\u201d she said.
\nAporbo said he felt uneasy over the government\u2019s promise to provide food for six months. \u201cAfter six months, what?\u201d he said.
\n\u201cOur livelihood is fishing. We cannot be forever eating noodles and canned sardines,\u201d he said.
\nAporbo and residents of Poo lost their boats during the storm.
\nSister Badette Dollete, directress of Ad Jesum Development Foundation, said the evacuees could stay at the foundation\u2019s seminar house, which has 150 beds, \u201conly until the provincial government has found a place for them.\u201d
\n\u201cThey are pitiful,\u201d said the nun. \u201cWhat a timing to make them leave the schools.\u201d <\/p>\n