Beejay Balagbis Posted on November 13, 2026 at 09:01 AM
The wind howled so loud over Guiuan that morning it drowned out every voice. Sheen Gonzales, then on his first term as mayor, stood outdoors watching Super Typhoon Yolanda barrel straight into the town. One after another, houses crumpled like cardboard. When the storm finally passed, he walked through streets covered in splintered wood, broken roofing, and quiet piles of rubble — the town he knew nearly wiped off the map, lives lost, families left with nothing. That walk through Guiuan’s ruins changed the course of his public service forever.
Years later, now as Congressman, Gonzales carried that painful memory all the way to Cebu City on November 4-6, 2026, for the 13th International Conference on Integrative Disaster Risk Reduction and Management. Invited as one of the resource speakers, he took the stage to speak on “Investing in Resilience: Legislative Priorities for Climate‑Adapted Infrastructure and Disaster Preparedness.” Beside him in the gathering were Board Member Atty. PJ Evardone representing Gov. RV Evardone, DOST Region VIII Director Dr. John D. Ocaña, and professors from other countries — all listening as he spoke not just from data, but from grief‑tinged experience.
He still remembers a mother he met days after Yolanda, clutching a water‑soaked family photo amid the wreckage of her home. She told him she never imagined the sea and wind could take everything so fast. That moment stuck with him long after Guiuan began clearing debris. “Ang mga aral ng Super Typhoon Yolanda ay dapat maisalin sa konkretong paghahanda para sa kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan,” Gonzales told the delegates. To him, accepting that climate change is real and already happening is the very first step to saving people like that mother before another storm arrives.
This conviction guides his work at Congress. He continues pushing for bills that respond to climate threats, prioritizing measures that directly help Eastern Samar’s vulnerable coastal towns. He has brought Guiuan’s story across borders too — joining the ASEAN Inter‑Parliamentary Assembly roundtable discussion in Bali, Indonesia to exchange ideas with fellow lawmakers, carrying Guiuan’s lessons onto an international stage.
Gonzales often says people rush to unite once disaster strikes, yet far fewer choose to unite before it hits. Guiuan slowly rose again from the rubble, rebuilt homes and restarted livelihoods. But for him, recovery was never enough. He fights for resilience so no family will ever again stand amid broken walls holding only a photograph of what they once had. Resilience, for the former Guiuan mayor‑turned‑congressman, means giving communities the chance to stand firm long before the strongest winds blow.
Photos by: Beejay Balagbis
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