Jonie Balicuas was just five steps away from the door of the supermarket when the ground shook Monday, but did not make it to safety because a hard object bounced off his head.
When he regained consciousness, the 22-year-old grocery bagger found himself boxed between walls.
The 6.1-magnitude earthquake had taken down the four-story building which folded like a sack several minutes past 5 p.m.
Jonie said it was pitched dark, but considered himself lucky because he had enough space to sit down.
“Walang nakadagan sa akin pero na-trap ako sa dalawang pader… nasa gitna ako. Nandoon lang po ako paikot-ikot. Buti walang naipit,” he recalled.
The first thing Jonie did was to find an area where air could pass. Using his hands, he dug for a small hole so he could breathe easier.
Aside from the incessant woman screams nearby, Jonie said he didn’t hear a thing except the noise outside.
Throughout his 16-hour ordeal, Jonie said he tried to calm himself. He did not attempt to strike a conversation with Lourdes Martin, the other victim on the other side of the wall.
“Basta ang nasa isip ko na lang po, ayoko pa pong mamatay. Gusto ko pang mabuhay para sa pamilya ko. Gusto ko talaga maka-survive kahit parang medyo alanganin na. Talagang nagpursige po ako,” he said.
Unknown to him, Dianne Gonzales, his girlfriend, was holding a vigil outside, waiting for developments.
Jonie said he was in and out of consciousness as he waited for deliverance. He did not have his mobile phone with him because it was forbidden at work.
He said he didn’t feel hunger, quenching his thirst by drinking his own sweat from his drenched shirt. He said he did not urinate.
Nearly half a day had passed when he finally heard rescuers trying to get to Martin who allowed her leg to be amputated so she could be pulled out of the rubble.
That triggered Jonie to act.
“Kumuha ako ng bato at yero. Nag-ingay po ako. Then narinig po nila. Sabi ko tulungan nila ako. Sabi nila babalik sila kaso yun nga lang po medyo napatagal,” he narrated.
Before the rescuers left, they inserted a cord, not unlike the one used in intravenous bags, so he could drink water.
It took three more hours before the rescuers returned, according to Jonie.
“Hindi po nila alam paano ako kukunin… Nahihirapan po sila sa posisyon ko kasi konting mali lang guguho po ang lahat,” Jonie said.
Finally, Jonie said he heard the buzz of a drilling machine.
Pairs of hands reached in and pulled him out of the concrete cage into a stretcher at around 9 a.m.
Jonie, a high school graduate from Asingan, Pangasinan, considers his rescue a miracle.
Now in good condition and recuperating at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in San Fernando City, Pampanga, Jonie faces an uncertain future.
Jonie, the youngest among seven children, used to work in a bakery in Porac, earning P3,500 a month, according to his girlfriend.
Dianne, who works in a beauty parlor, said she convinced Jonie to take the P6,000-a-month job at the supermarket four months ago.
Little did she know that the P200-a-day job would nearly cost her boyfriend his life. (Ria Fernandez)