Interview with Earthquake survivor

Jonie Balicuas , 22-year-old grocery bagger

 “I was five steps away from the door of the supermarket when the ground shook”
 “I wasn’t able to go out because a hard object hit my head”
 “When I regained consciousness, I found himself boxed between walls “

 “Walang nakadagan sa akin pero na-trap ako sa dalawang pader… nasa gitna ako. Nandoon
lang po ako paikot-ikot. Buti walang naipit (Nothing fell on me but I was trapped between
two walls. I was just moving there),”

 The 6.1-magnitude earthquake had taken down the four-story building which folded like a
sack several minutes past 5 p.m.

 Throughout his 16-hour ordeal, Jonie said he tried to calm himself. “Basta ang nasa isip ko na
lang po, ayoko pa pong mamatay. Gusto ko pang mabuhay para sa pamilya ko. Gusto ko
talaga maka-survive kahit parang medyo alanganin na. Talagang nagpursige po ako (I just
kept thinking that I do not want to die. I just wanted to live for my family. I wanted to survive
even if the situation seemed difficult),”

 “I waited for long hours before the rescuers finally arrived to get me out of the rubble.”
 “It was already 9 am in the morning, the following day, when pairs of hands reached in and
pulled me out of the concrete cage into a stretcher”
 I consider my rescue a miracle
 Jonie is now in good condition and recovering at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional
Hospital in San Fernando City, Pampanga

Earthquake

• A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the central part of Luzon on Monday afternoon.

• Five people were killed in Porac, Pampanga from the four- storey Chuzon supermarket that
collapsed due to the earthquake.

• At least 40 people were trapped inside the supermarket.

• The accident also left 7 people injured.”

• Authorities are still investigating if there are other people hurt in the incident.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the central part of Luzon particularly Porac, Pampanga on Monday
afternoon which killed five people and seven were injured.

Meanwhile, there were at least 40 people trapped inside the supermarket. Several minutes past 5 p.m,
the four-story building collapsed due to the earthquake. Jonie Balicuas, a 22-year-old grocery bagger at
the building was one of the earthquake survivor.

“I was five steps away from the door of the supermarket when the ground shook”, Balicuas said
during the interview.

He also said that he wasn’t able to go out because a hard object hit hit head. “When I regained
consciousness, I found himself boxed between walls “, he added.

Throughout his 16-hour ordeal, Jonie said he tried to calm himself. “Basta ang nasa isip ko na lang po,
ayoko pa pong mamatay. Gusto ko pang mabuhay para sa pamilya ko. Gusto ko talaga maka-survive
kahit parang me¬dyo alanganin na. Talagang nagpursige po ako (I just kept thinking that I do not want to
die. I just wanted to live for my family. I wanted to survive even if the situation seemed difficult),

According to him, he waited for long hours before the rescuers finally arrived to get him out of the
rubble. He said, that it was already 9 am in the morning, the following day, when pairs of hands
reached in and pulled him out of the concrete cage into a stretcher.

Jonie is now in good condition and recovering at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in
San Fernando City, Pampanga

Authorities are still investigating if there are other people hurt in the incident.