In the northern part of the Philippines, panic-stricken people of all ages and from all walks of life ran for their lives as the earthquake, with a maximum intensity of 8 (adapted Rossi-Forel Intensity Scale) struck. They screamed, cried and watched in disbelief as buildings collapsed entrapping and killing adults and children. After two days, the cities of Baguio was in ruins, Dagupan was submerged, and Cabanatuan had the stench of death. Soon, the count placed the confirmed dead at 1200. It was feared that many more bodies would be found as rescue work continued. Rescue operations, however, were severely limited because continuing landslides cut off access to the disaster sites. Those in the unaffected areas watched with great sadness, and concern: soon they organized themselves to provide emergency relief, food, and shelter.

The Mental Health Task Force on Disaster of the Department of Health was organized in response to the call of President Corazon C. Aquino to give immediate attention to the psychosocial consequences of the disaster. After a visit to the devastated areas, the President was convinced that the disaster caused overwhelming psychological distress that might lead to far- reaching psychosocial damage on the lives of the victims. She also recognized that those who survived were just as traumatized.

As suggested by the President, a team of psychologists and psychiatrists under Task Force on Disaster was immediately sent to Baguio, not only to buffer the emotional shock that was still raging on, but also to plan possible areas of intervention. This paper will present the psychosocial interventions so far undertaken by the Task Force. We started by sending several teams to Cabanatuan City and the province of Nueva Ecija, Dagupan City and the province of Pangasinan and Aringay town (in La Union) and most of the other towns of La Union. We could not follow through with Baguio at that time because Baguio was inaccessible due to landslides and air transport was limited to food supply and rescue operations. We also covered the town of Tarlac and Nueva Vizcaya. In those activities we provided the necessary crisis interventions to buffer the shock. We also continued the process of psychosocial management even through the recovery and rebuilding phases. Definitely, the human factor is just as crucial as the reconstruction of roads and buildings.

As we in the Task Force discussed and planned our work, we faced another crisis. We knew very little about what we needed to do. None of us had previous experience in handling disasters. We undertook the task only with the compelling desire to help and be one with the victims in their suffering.

It has been gratifying to know that many colleagues in the field were ready to collaborate with us. Through our pooled efforts, we evolved strategies for intervention which we then applied. An expression of gratitude to colleagues who have labored and traveled to Baguio, Cabanatuan, Dagupan, La Union and possibly through the landslides of Nueva Vizcaya may not even suffice at this point.

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