Buried for Days Under the Rubble of the 1990 Northern Luzon Earthquake

Imagine being buried alive under tons of rubble for two weeks. No food, no water, and very little hope of being rescued. This is the story of Pedrito Dy, Luisa Mallorca, and Arnel Calabia. They were employees of the Hyatt Terraces hotel in Baguio City when the deadly 1990 earthquake struck. The three hotel staff were buried under the debris when the hotel collapsed. At least 80 employees and guests of Hyatt Hotel were killed by the earthquake. Dozens more were seriously injured.

Pedrito Dy, Luisa Mallorca and Arnel Calabia are among the lucky ones. They survived the ordeal. Their story of survival caught the attention of the international media because they were miraculously rescued after spending days pinned under the rubble of the collapsed hotel.

Mallorca, a casino employee, and Calabia, a security guard, were pulled out of the rubble 11 days after the earthquake. Mallorca said she survived by drinking her own urine.

Dy was rescued after 14 days at a different section of the collapsed building. A cook and a gym instructor at the hotel, Dy said he survived by drinking the rainwater that seeped and flowed through the rubble.

The three survived but they will never forget the days they spent praying for help and rescue. Mallorca and Calabia said there was another man with them during their ordeal. They would talk to each other and pray together. Unfortunately, the man died about a week after the earthquake which was just four days before Mallorca and Calabia were rescued.

Dy recalled that for days after the earthquake, he would listen to voices around him calling for help. Sometimes, they would talk to each other in the dark. But as the days went by, these voices slowly dwindled and eventually stopped. According to estimates, 1621 people were killed by the earthquake, 3513 were injured, and 321 went missing.

Igorots Used Human Jawbones as Handles for Musical Gongs

There's evidence that our Igorot ancestors repurposed human jawbones and used these as handles for gongs. This practice had been mentioned in historical records from the Spanish period. Recent/modern historians like Albert Ernest Jenks and William Henry Scott also cited the practice in the books they've written about Igorot/Cordillera history. 

There's also an abundance of photographic evidence. Just like this photo taken between 1904 and 1920. The photo shows two Igorot men holding gongs, the handles of which were made from human jawbones. The theory is that these jawbones were taken from the heads of slain enemy tribes. It's a historical fact that our Igorot ancestors used to practice headhunting.

This photo is from the Graphic Arts Collection of the Firestone Library of Princeton University. The caption for the photo stated: "Two Igorots with gongs. The gongs are used on which to beat time for their dances. Note that the handles are human jawbones from the heads of enemies taken in battle. The upper portion of the skull is given a place of honor in the home of the captor."

Eusebius Halsema: The American Who Built Halsema Highway and Transformed Baguio City

Eusebius Julius Halsema was an American civil engineer and politician who served as mayor of Baguio City from 1920 to 1937. Halsema first arrived in the Philippines in 1908 and worked as an engineer for the Philippine Government's Bureau of Public Works. In his first 11 years in the country, Halsema was assigned in Cebu, then Pampanga, then Manila, then Zamboanga. 

In 1920, he was sent to Baguio City. For 17 years, he served as mayor and city engineer of Baguio City as well as district engineer for the province of Benguet. It was during his watch that the Halsema Highway was first carved out of the steep mountain slopes of Benguet and Mt. Province. Construction commenced in 1922. Back then, it was referred to as the Mountain Trail because it started out as a foot trail. It was only during the succeeding years that it was slowly transformed into a road fit for automobiles.

Halsema Highway is without a doubt the most important highway in the Cordillera region. Stretching for 150 kilometers from Baguio City to Bontoc, Mt. Province, the highway is an indispensable economic artery in the region. Without it, the economies of the provinces of Benguet, Mt. Province, Kalinga, and Apayao will find it very difficult to move forward. Halsema Highway is the line that connects the provinces together. Farmers use it to transport their highland vegetables. Goods and services to the northern provinces are transported through it. In other words, it's the main street of the region's economy.

Halsema left his government post in 1937 but still decided to live and retire in Baguio City. He died in Baguio City on March 15, 1945. Around this time, the city was under the control of the Imperial Japanese Army. Also during this time, the city was being besieged and bombed by Allied forces trying to liberate the city from the Japanese forces. Halsema was buried at the Baguio Cemetery. His remains to this day are at the cemetery marked by a simple white tombstone.

Quick Facts About Eusebius Halsema

1. He was born on March 12, 1882 in the village of New Bremen on the plains of western Ohio in the United States.
2. His father (a watchmaker and jeweler) and his mother were migrants from the Netherlands.
3. He studied at the Ohio State University and graduated in 1907 with a degree in civil engineering.
4. He died in Baguio City in March of 1945 while the city was under the control of the Imperial Japanese Army.
5. He was the 5th and last American mayor of Baguio City.