CAGAYAN DE ORO (Mabuhay) : “A 16-year-old I met in Iligan on January 5 suddenly stopped speaking in mid-sentence about his survival in the floods, which hit the city on December 19 last year,” Father Pat O’Donoghue told Mabuhay.

“His house and all his neighbours were simply swept away with nothing to indicate that any house had ever stood there. He and his 18-year-old brother began swimming together and tried to keep other members of the family afloat. His brother is still missing—he suddenly stopped talking and just stared at the sea, unbearable grief and painful memories.”

Father O’Donoghue told of a father who was holding...