Family's Nightmare During Typhoon Tino
As Typhoon Tino battered Cebu with relentless rain and powerful winds, one family in Garden Bloom Acres, Pitogo, Consolacion faced more than just nature's fury—they experienced a personal tragedy that highlighted systemic failures in disaster response.
Charles Hunter and his family endured the storm's worst moments while grieving the loss of his 78-year-old father, who passed away during the typhoon's peak hours. The elderly man had been diagnosed with late-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2022 and couldn't survive the storm's onslaught.
22-Hour Ordeal and Failed Systems
The family's trauma deepened when they discovered they couldn't immediately arrange for their father's cremation. Floodwaters made roads impassable, preventing funeral home personnel from reaching their residence for nearly a full day.
Hunter's father passed away at 2 a.m. on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, but funeral services could only retrieve the remains 22 hours later, when floodwaters finally receded enough to clear access routes.
"Can you imagine how traumatizing it is to see your dad die in the middle of a storm, having no choice but to wait out the storm and now his body can't be picked up because of the flood?" Hunter shared in a viral Facebook post that garnered over 7,000 reactions and 4,000 shares.
Broader Flood Management Failures
Hunter didn't mince words about what he considered the root cause of their extended suffering: poor flood management systems across Cebu. He pointed to widespread flooding affecting multiple areas including Liloan, Consolacion, Mandaue, Talisay, and Cebu City.
The tragedy occurred against a backdrop of ongoing investigations by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) into alleged ghost projects nationwide. The department had identified over 400 infrastructure projects as either non-existent or poorly implemented.
Despite DPWH's promises to blacklist responsible contractors and submit findings to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure for potential prosecution, 104 days into the probe, and after typhoon Tino claimed over 100 lives in Cebu, no accountability has been established.
"This is really traumatizing, honestly," Hunter expressed. "My family and I have not had an opportunity to properly grieve." His story has become a symbol of the human cost behind infrastructure failures and delayed government action during natural disasters.
