Jesabel Alvarez is just one of the many residents in Adia, Agoncillo who are still struggling from the damages left by the Taal volcano eruption. Her family is once again in the face of another crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was a normal Sunday afternoon when the family started receiving messages that Taal volcano is spewing ashes. With their barangay situated on the higher part of Agoncillo and where Taal volcano is not visible, the news of a possible eruption came as a shock to them and their neighbors. But a few minutes later, they started to feel the earthquake accompanied by the sudden eruption. The 27-year old mother, together with her three children and husband, immediately packed some of their things and went on their way to evacuate to her cousin’s house.

Almost a month after the eruption, volcanic emissions and earthquakes continued to weaken and the alert level status was lowered. Finally, Jesabel’s family was able to go back to their community. However, they came home to a totally damaged house. The said house was newly built with the money coming from a home credit program. Jesabel and her husband would have to face the reality of paying monthly for a wrecked house that needed to be built again. For the meantime, they set up a tent as their temporary shelter.

With their struggle to live day by day, the implementation of the Luzon-wide community lockdown due to the pandemic added another burden. Almost a month with no job during their evacuation, her husband who used to work as a courier was again jobless due to the restrictions imposed by the Enhanced Community Quarantine. Their only source of income is the mini-store they set up after their return since the eruption. The capital they used was from donations from their relatives.

Their daily needs, piling up water and electric bills and the monthly dues for their house loan is overwhelming to Jesabel considering the small profit they get from their mini-store. That is why she is very thankful for the food packs she received from STPRC in partnership with National Alliance for Filipino Concerns and Foundation for Philippine Progress on June 5: “Malaki ang maitutulong nito, bigas pa lang, kaysa bibilhin pa, malaking tulong na. May ulam pa, ‘di na kami bibili.”

Jesabel hopes that there will be someone who will help them rebuild their house, especially now that the rainy season is coming and their roofs and walls are full of holes and could not protect them from the rains.