This used to be my playground
This used to be our pride and joy
This used to be the place we ran to
That no one in the world could dare destroy
— taken from the song This Used to Be My Playground by Madonna
This was once a fun place to be – the Libona Riverside Spring Resort, a public swimming pool supplied by the cool waters of the Agusan River and run by the Municipality of Libona. I had been here before with my family, back in 2009, and had long planned to return. If fate hadn’t stepped in, we would have gone last December, just before New Year’s Day.
Sometime around midnight of December 17, 2011, a wall of water came rushing down the mountain, carrying with it rocks and boulders , sweeping away everything in its path. Even when its path was blocked or maybe it was too narrow, the raging deluge found its own way, smashing through the quiet and leaving behind nothing but ruins.
Because this happened in the middle of the night, and the weather was cold and wet (perfect for sleeping through), the flood hit without warning, catching sleepers and guards before they could even react. There were five of them, one a pregnant woman. In a way, we thank God they did not suffer much.
Today, only the sign remains to remind us what once was, but is now… another casualty of Typhoon Sendong.
Life in the Bukids 