Knee-deep flood puts to test couple's love

By AARON B. RECUENCO

January 1, 2011, 7:29pm

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines — It was supposed to be just a simple tying of the knot of two ordinary lovers, but ended as a talk-of-the-town wedding when bad weather that almost cancelled the ceremony rattled everyone here that even forced local disaster officials here to send military trucks and rescue teams just to make sure that it would push through.

It did and all the credits should be given to Glenda Lorenzo who virtually moved heaven and earth on their rainy and flooded wedding day last Thursday in Albay just to attain what she and her sweetheart Ryan Cuebillas dreamed of. Glenda was trapped in a kneedeep floodwater in Casablanca Hotel several minutes before her 3 p.m. wedding day last Thursday at the Albay Cathedral, sending all the couple’s relatives and guests to panic as news of the massive flooding in Legazpi City broke out.

“We planned for this for several years, I will not let anyone and anything to ruin that day,” Glenda told the Manila Bulletin in an interview in their house in Guinobatan, Albay.

Glenda said she did not expect such incident to happen, saying she was even thankful when it started raining here on December 27 as he hoped that the weather would improve on Thursday.

But it was still raining Thursday morning as they travel to the Casablanca Hotel where all the final preparations for her and other female members of the wedding entourage.

At 2:30 p.m., Glenda said tension began to grip her when she spotted that flood water submerged even the lobby of the hotel.

Even her groom admitted that he started to feel uneasy inside the Church.

It was already 3:15 p.m. and all attempts to fetch her using big sports utility vehicle turned to naught as the bridal car that was supposed to transport her to the Church was stuck in the hotel parking lot. Even the L-300 van being used to deliver bread that was sent by her relatives was not able to pass the road leading to the hotel.

“I didn’t know what to do that time, it was horrible, I called almost everybody for help but they could not help me,” said Glenda.

Until she devised an impromptu plan which she believed, and prayed, would work out.

Panawagan
Using the local radio station dzGB, Glenda started to cry for help, imploring anyone to do something for her to reach the Church. The radio anchor then promised to help her, starting off with contacting the office of the Albay Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

“That was the only thing I could do that time. I contacted dzGB and they put me on air. They allowed me to talk and asked for help to all their listeners,” said Glenda.

But time is running out and the tension that her uncle sees on her face had prompted him to stop a truck delivering metal strips begging the driver to help them. It was a sigh of relief when the driver readily agreed.

Back in the hotel, Ryan had already asked the Church authorities to re-schedule their wedding to 6:30 p.m. and even asked some of them to prepare a place that will be used as makeshift reception area.

“I thought it would solve the problem but the hotel staff told us that we would have to fetch the pack lunch at the hotel. It was impossible to do that because the area was flooded,” said Ryan.

“What I did is to ask some of my relatives to get the food that we prepared in our house in Daraga (town) and bring them to the Church,” he added.

The hotel staff, on the other hand, had lined up all the tables that they could get for the bride to reach the truck. The move is to prevent her gown from being soaked to floodwater.

Her mother, who came all the way to the United States, and her bridesmaids meanwhile were turned into hitchhikers as they were left standing at the back of the truck.

Bayanihan
But the trouble did not end there as they were stuck in a monstrous traffic a few kilometres away from the Church.

Persistent as she had been, Glenda alighted from the truck and decided to walk.

The bystanders and commuters, seeing that incident, immediately lined up pieces of woods and rocks where she could step to avoid the flooding.

While she was walking, Glenda said she was delighted to see that some of the bystanders came to the rescue and assisted her, some of them lifting her gown and the other volunteering to carry her on their back.

It even went to the point that some of the bystanders gave their slippers to them.

“It touched my heart. It felt good to see that a number of people whom you don’t know were there to help you,” said Glenda.

“It made me feel very proud as a Bicolana, because that incident proved the spirit of bayanihan among the Bicolanos,” she added.

At the end of the flooded area, Glenda said she was allowed to ride a passenger jeepney, along with her mother and other members of the wedding entourage.

“The jeepney was already full but some of them alighted to give way for us. On our way to the Church, it was funny to see that all the vehicles are giving way when the driver and some passengers are shouting that they need to give way because there was a bride on board,” she narrated.

Unforgettable experience
The wedding started more than three hours late, with everyone in the Church heaving a sigh of relief that the bride was able to make it. Some of them could not help but to laugh at the most memorable wedding they attended.

When the ceremony ended at around 8:30 p.m., Ryan said all the guests and their relatives decided to leave their car at the parking lot of the Church and willingly boarded the two military 6x6 trucks that were sent by the military.

This, after the flooding started to subside and the roads leading to Casablanca Hotel were declared passable, only to trucks.

“We did not push through with the reception ceremony, everyone was hungry so we just joined them,” said Ryan, adding that even soldiers who were sent by the military to escort them partook of the food.

“It was unforgettable. What happened in our wedding is something that we are excited to tell to our children, and even our grandchildren,” said Glenda.

In various areas in Albay, local rescue teams were busy implementing forced evacuation on the affected residents which numbered to more than 60,000 later that very day.

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