Some OFWs back from Japan, recount ordeal

abs-cbnNEWS.com


MANILA, Philippines – Some overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Japan have begun arriving here, carrying with them the horrors they saw and experienced when a major earthquake and tsunami hit the country.

Yolanda Ouchi, Loida Dabue and Ricardo Pesino were among the OFWs from Japan who arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport early Sunday.

They told ABS-CBN News that they were glad to be home unscathed after Friday's 8.9 magnitude quake, one of the largest ever recorded, unleashed a terrifying tsunami that engulfed towns and cities on Japan's northeastern coast.

Ouchi was teary eyed as she narrated their experience in Japan. She said their house was located 4 hours away from Honshu island, one of hard hit areas, but they were still traumatized.

She said when the major earthquake and tsunami struck, she thought they were going to die.

"Iba na siya, biglang lumindol tapos ang lakas… Sabi ko, ‘Huli na yata namin ito,’" Ouchi said.

Dabue said she was shocked when she saw on television the massive destruction.

"Awa… noong napanood ko sa TV siyempre na-shock kami. Parang na-recall ko ‘yong napanood ko sa movie. I just stopped watching kasi hindi ko kaya," Dabue said.

She said she was grateful that she and her family were unharmed.

After the earthquake, a traumatized Pesino said he has no plans of returning to Japan after 25 years of staying there.

“’Yong lindol sa Japan araw-araw. Talagang normal na ‘yon. Pero hindi ganoon kalakas at katindi. Super earthquake talaga," he said.

More Filipinos from Japan are expected to come home as some flights to and from the battered country have normalized.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said there are a total of 305,972 Filipinos in Japan. -Report from Jerome Lantin, ABS-CBN News. With Agence France-Presse

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more