BOTOLAN, Zambales — When swollen rivers and impassable roads cut off 11 remote Aeta communities from the rest of Botolan, authorities turned to an unusual lifeline: military airlift and animal-drawn carts.
A total of 2,519 families in 11 upland communities received 4,564 family food packs on Sunday, September 6, after continuous rains brought by the southwest monsoon, or Habagat, made normal access to the villages increasingly dangerous.
The relief operation lasted more than seven hours, with the Philippine Air Force (PAF) transporting food supplies by helicopter to nine communities, while carabao-drawn carts were used to deliver provisions to two others where air transport was not used.
The affected communities are Villar, Moraza, Belbel, Burgos, Nacolcol, Palis, Maguisguis, Cabatuan, Owaog Nebloc, Malomboy and Poonbato. They are located roughly 25 to 30 kilometers from the Botolan town proper, making access particularly difficult during prolonged periods of heavy rain.
Swollen rivers became a dangerous barrier
The immediate challenge was not simply the distance.
Continuous rains caused strong currents in the Bucao River and two tributaries draining from Mount Pinatubo, effectively isolating the upland communities from the town center.
The danger became tragically clear earlier in the week when a carabao-drawn cart carrying a father and his 5-year-old daughter was swept away by a strong river current while they were traveling home to Barangay Palis. Both were later found dead.
With river crossings becoming hazardous, authorities had to find alternative ways to move essential supplies into communities that could no longer be reliably reached by conventional vehicles.
Philippine Air Force steps in
The provincial government and the Botolan municipal government coordinated the emergency operation, with the PAF providing the airlift capability needed to reach the isolated areas.
Separate landing sites were established in Villar, Poonbato and Cabatuan, allowing residents from neighboring communities to collect the food packs transported by air.
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief Rolex Estella supervised the operation with Botolan disaster officials and military personnel.
The response was particularly important because many of the affected Aeta communities depend heavily on farming for their livelihood. With access routes disrupted, residents were not only struggling to obtain food but were also having difficulty bringing agricultural products to markets in the lowlands.
Zambales remains under a state of calamity
The emergency food operation comes as Zambales continues to deal with extensive damage caused by the combined effects of Habagat and tropical cyclones.
The province was placed under a state of calamity on August 19 after agricultural and infrastructure damage surpassed ₱591.98 million, according to provincial disaster officials.
BusinessMirror reported that the damage included major destruction to river dikes, slope-protection structures and other infrastructure. The disaster also displaced thousands of families and isolated other communities after critical transportation links were damaged.
The continuing danger is particularly significant in communities surrounding the river systems draining Mount Pinatubo, where heavy rainfall can trigger flooding and move large quantities of volcanic debris deposited after the 1991 eruption.
Authorities watching for more rain and lahar
On September 4, Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. directed disaster officials to closely monitor the province’s lahar channels amid forecasts of additional heavy rainfall from the southwest monsoon.
The threat is not limited to flooding. Rainfall can loosen old volcanic deposits and send muddy flows downstream through river systems connected to Mount Pinatubo.
Earlier reporting also documented the continuing vulnerability of Aeta communities in Central Luzon, where remote settlements can quickly become isolated when roads, bridges and river crossings are affected by severe weather. GMA News reported that swollen rivers and unsafe roads have previously forced schools serving Aeta communities to shift temporarily to modular learning.
The latest relief operation therefore provides more than immediate food assistance. It highlights the persistent challenge of maintaining access to remote indigenous communities when extreme weather cuts conventional transportation routes.
For the 2,519 families in Botolan, however, the priority on Sunday was immediate and basic: getting food through, despite rivers that had effectively become barriers between the communities and the outside world.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.S
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