While the New Year brought hope for new beginnings to most, it was a different story for people in Palawan. The ruined landscape evoked sadness and desolation, following super typhoon Odette’s wrath.

A day after the New Year, 36-year-old PLDT engineer Daniel C. Intal flew in from Manila to help with the restoration work in Palawan.  “I felt sad for the place and its people, many trees and houses were destroyed,” he said.  “We passed by places where every coconut tree laid lifeless on the ground, like fallen soldiers. The landscape, especially in the remote areas of the province, was really distressing.”

Driven by malasakit (compassion) for the Palaweños, who needed to contact their families and relatives outside of Palawan to seek help, Intal and his team immediately got to work.

“We travelled from Puerto Princesa City to several other towns in Palawan to repair and replace damaged main feeder fiber optic cables, splice and repair fiber-to-the-home lines,” Intal recounted.  “There were times when work had to extend until night fall so we could complete the restoration of connectivity in particular areas where people have been totally cut off from communicating with their loved ones.”

They climbed poles to restore severed cables and also looked into local convergence point and network access point boxes to re-establish connection. Challenges got in the way, among them the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  But Intal and his team courageously fulfilled their responsibilities with iron determination. “I needed to be tough and resilient, especially in times like these,” he said, adding that he also kept in mind his wife’s constant reminder to always observe health protocols.

Recounting conversations with the locals, Intal said Palaweños shared that they didn’t expect Odette to be a super typhoon, that “it was a rare occurrence for them.” But he observed, “People are coping by slowly repairing their damaged homes, and they’re moving forward.”

Based in Manila, Intal is part of the PLDT Emergency Restoration Team sent to Palawan to help repair and restore the network following Odette, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in 2021.

After 14 days of round-the-clock restoration work, Intal and his team have returned to Manila, and after having experienced the joys of helping others in need, are now feeling empowered to serve more, providing all with seamless connectivity.