Tacloban City, 3 towns suspend classes, work on 9th Yolanda anniversary

Tacloban City and three other tows in Leyte suspend classes and government work for Tuesday, November 8, in marking the 9th anniversary of the deadly Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

In an executive order, Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez ordered the class and government work suspension to “allow the solemn [commemoration] of this day.”

“A series of activities will be held by different groups to commemorate the occurrence as a way to recognize the lessons that ought to be learned from the experiences and to pay homage to the people that suffered, and those that survived the catastrophe, as well as to highlight the resilience of the people of Tacloban City,” Romualdez said in his order.

However, government offices and its personnel in charge of the maintenance of peace, order, emergency response, health, traffic flow, and disaster management are expected to report for work.

Suspension of work in all private offices, companies, and institutions in Tacloban City is left to the discretion of their respective managements.

Yolanda made landfall in 2013, causing massive damage in most parts of the Visayas region, and left more than 6,000 people dead and over 28,000 injured.

Estimates on the super typhoon's damage was pegged at around P89 billion.

Dubbed Yolanda's "ground zero",  Tacloban City was the most devastated area by the super typhoon.

Meanwhile, Carigara, Leyte Mayor Eduardo Ong Jr.; Palo, Leyte Mayor Remedios “Matin” Petilla; and Marabut, Samar Mayor Percival Ortillo Jr. also issued executive orders suspending classes and work in government offices.

In 2019, the House of Representatives passed a measure declaring November 8 of every year a special non-working holiday in Eastern Visayas “to honor the memory of all who perished during the onslaught of Yolanda on November 8, 2013.”

HB Bill 4960, is also a way “to salute the selflessness of all volunteers and organizations that took part and contributed in the recovery and rehabilitation efforts of the communities affected by the typhoon.” —LBG, GMA Integrated News