LEGAZPI CITY -- Climatologists may have the explanation for Typhoon “Mina” (international codename: Mitag) swinging away from the Bicol Region last weekend, but to Bicolanos, the answer was simple enough: Mina veered because of the power of prayer.

By Joanna Los Baños, Bobby Labalan
Southern Luzon Bureau
Last updated 04:22am (Mla time) 11/26/2007

LEGAZPI CITY -- Climatologists may have the explanation for Typhoon “Mina” (international codename: Mitag) swinging away from the Bicol Region last weekend, but to Bicolanos, the answer was simple enough: Mina veered because of the power of prayer.

For more than 48 hours, as Mina threatened the region with its center winds of 175 kilometers per hour, radio stations in Sorsogon City were swamped with text messages urging people to pray hard so that the howler would spare their province and the region.

In some areas, priests noticed a sudden jump in attendance at churches. In evacuation centers, people found comfort in reciting their rosaries.

Virginia Ayala, 61, an evacuee from the lahar-prone village of Padang, said it was a miracle Albay province was spared. “I thank God for saving us,” she said.

Auxiliary Bishop Lucilo Quiambao of the Archdiocese of Legazpi credited the power of prayer which proved “that God really sustains.”

Fr. Rex Paul Arjona, chancellor of the Legazpi diocese, agreed that what happened was “sort of a miracle.”

Arjona recalled that the typhoon was hardly moving last Friday but late that night, “surprisingly, it changed direction.”

He said Bicolanos were praying the typhoon would not cause too much damage in the provinces of Aurora and Isabela, which are now facing Mina’s fury. “What’s good for us may not be good for them,” he said.

The priest said the people would continue to pray the “Oratio Imperata for Deliverance from Calamities” until the threat from the typhoon had passed.

New faces among churchgoers were seen at the Albay Cathedral. “We noticed an increase in attendance of churchgoers in the regular Masses,” Arjona said.

Imploring Jesus

Arjona explained that people were really seeking God’s help and really praying. “I believe it was an answered prayer,” he said.

On Saturday, after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced that Mina had changed course and was headed for northern Luzon, a text message sent to Radyo Natin-Sorsogon said it was the deluge of prayers that made the typhoon turn away.

Pastor Allan Lopez, a physician by profession, said in a text message to Radyo Natin that his group, the Victory Christian Fellowship, and other congregations had dedicated Sorsogon to Jesus Christ to protect its people from the wrath of Mina.

Nothing is impossible

Lopez’s group had formed “prayer warrior” groups and teamed up with the Intercessor for the Philippines, whose members devote themselves to praying and seeking Divine Intervention.

Sorsogon Gov. Sally Lee, a devout Catholic, said nothing was impossible when people got together to petition the Lord for deliverance. She said prayers had long been proven to be a powerful tool in warding off evil and calamities.

Lee spent an hour praying in her office before talking to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a teleconference on Friday afternoon.

Text messages

Doods Marianito, Radyo Natin-Sorsogon station manager and himself a pastor, said more than 70 percent of the text messages he received were either prayers or appeals for the people to pray.

Marianito said the messages showed the people’s faith in God and proved Sorsoganons remained a deeply religious people.

“Many evacuees had been texting us seeking for help through prayers,” he said.

Marianito said the volume of text messages increased after the PAGASA raised storm signal No. 2 over Sorsogon. By then, thousands of residents had sought refuge in evacuation centers in the city. Most of them came from coastal villages.

Going back home

Of the more than 150,000 people who had fled to evacuation centers in Albay, about 96,000 from coastal villages and flood-prone areas had been authorized to return to their homes as of Saturday.

The rest were told that they could also go back home on Sunday.

Legazpi residents said the Oratio prayer distributed to the different parishes of the city was one of the reasons for the miracle. The prayer has been read during every Mass since Oct. 28.

The Oratio

The Oratio reads: “Almighty Father, we raise our hearts to You in gratitude for the wonders of creation of which we are part, for Your providence in sustaining us in our needs, and for Your wisdom that guides the course of the universe.

“We acknowledge our sins against You and the rest of creation.
“We have not been good stewards of Nature.
“We have confused Your command to subdue the earth.
“The environment is made to suffer our wrongdoing, and now we reap the harvest of our abuse and indifference.
“Global warming is upon us. Typhoons, floods, volcanic eruption, and other natural calamities occur in increasing number and intensity.
“We turn to You, our loving Father, and beg forgiveness for our sins.
“We ask that we, our loved ones and our hard earned possessions be spared from the threat of calamities, natural and man-made.
“We beseech You to inspire us all to grow into responsible stewards of Your creation, and generous neighbors to those in need.
“Amen.”

 The Philippine Daily Inquirer

November 26,2007