Tacloban City—A town mayor, a fire marshal, and three police officials have assisted five pregnant women to deliver their babies after the deadly Typhoon “Ursula” barreled through Caibiran, Biliran on Dec. 24.
The rescue team was composed of Major Dinvir Revita and Major Jorge Meneses III, both from the Police Regional Office Eastern Visayas Finance Service Office; Lieutenant Vic Viros, Caibiran chief of police; Senior Fire Officer 2 Romeo Tan, Caibiran acting municipal fire marshal; Caibiran Mayor Rhodessa Revita, wife of Major Revita; and other municipal health workers.
They were in the area for clearing and rescue operations along the main roads of Caibiran right after the typhoon made landfall in Cabucgayan, adjacent town of Caibiran.
Ursula made its third landfall in Cabucgayan at 9:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The team was headed for Barangay Union, Caibiran to rescue Jenerose Aragon, a pregnant mother whose delivery was due that day, according to police regional spokesperson Lt. Col. Ma. Bella Rentuya.
Aragon delivered a baby girl named Mary Ursula A. Sulayao at 1:25 a.m. Wednesday.
She was attended to by Tita Vermug, a rural health nurse and member of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, assisted by Mayor Revita, along with Maya Borromeo, nurse, and secretary at the mayor’s office.
A separate call for assistance from pregnant mother Joy Blanquer at Barangay Manlabang, Caibiran was responded to by the mayor’s brother Rodel Delante who was on his way to join Major Revita’s team at Barangay Union.
While she was rushed to the Rural Health Unit in Caibiran, Blanquer delivered birth while inside the Toyota Hi-Lux vehicle of the police official.
The baby was later named Christian Hilux Blanquer.
While the mayor’s staff and members of RHU stayed at Barangay Union, other members of the rescue team went to the adjacent barangays to continue the clearing operations.
Along the way, they encountered a stranded vehicle at Barangay Villavicenta with another pregnant woman named Marilou Regir on board.
After the team cleared the road, the vehicle was able to pass and made it to the RHU in time as Regir gave birth to a baby boy at around 3:15 a.m. on Dec. 25, added Rentuaya.
As the police official and his team continued the road clearing operation, they encountered another stranded vehicle at Sitio Andrade, Barangay Asug.
The vehicle was coming from Cabucgayan town with pregnant mother Mary Grace Bacalando who was due for delivery.
The police officials, along with the mayor, led them to RHU-Caibiran where Bacalando gave birth to a baby girl at around 8:20 a.m.
Hours after, another pregnant mother named Catherine Mae Esmeralda from Barangay Bariis, Caibiran was brought to the said RHU.
She gave birth at around 5:56 a.m. to a baby boy named Clyde Andrei Esmeralda.
According to Rentuaya, the members of the rescuing team will stand as godparents as the newborn babies are set to be baptized on Jan. 15, 2020, during the celebration of Caibiran’s “Pueblo Day.”
READ: ‘Ursula’ death count now 28, more toll likely
