Oplan Hatid

Sometime last week, while netizens were brewing up their own storm on social media arguing over the government’s relief efforts and watching the Sanchez vs. Cooper bout usurp the upcoming Pacquiao fight, a small team of individuals were busy coming up with a very simple, yet touching relief effort that would really hit home. 

After witnessing how the evacuees of super typhoon Yolanda were landing in Villamor Air Base and simply ushered to the sidewalks of Pasay to fend for themselves and find their own way to their friends and relatives’ homes without any means, Golda Benjamin, an international trade lawyer and DSWD volunteer, took to her Facebook account to express her concern.

Cel Ocampo, the wife of my good friend and former motoring editor here at the STAR, Junep Ocampo, saw the post and it tugged at her heart. So much so that she woke her husband up and demanded they do something about it. Always one to spring into action for a good cause, Junep spoke to some friends, including myself, asking if we could donate a ride. By Thursday there were three volunteers. 

After witnessing firsthand the direct effect I had on someone’s shattered life simply by providing the final link in their chain of recovery, I posted a plea online asking for volunteers to do the same. Within 24 hours the post was shared 1,500 times and Villamor Air Base needed to be temporarily shut down to civilian vehicles because they were overwhelmed with support. And Oplan Hatid was born. 

The wheels were set in motion, both literally and figuratively. Manufacturers were quick to donate the use of their cars or vans, while motoring journalists like Eggay Quesada and Ardie Lopez, just to name a few, offered to drive. By Saturday, the Wall Street Journal and GMA Online had picked up on the story and called me for an interview. 

The bayanihan spirit was hitting its rev limit. Private motorists poured in from all over Metro Manila. Lifeline Ambulance sent their fleet of driver-on-call vehicles to take people anywhere they needed to go in Metro Manila; Avis sent a coaster van, Hertz sent some cars, some folks sent their drivers, FX services and vans showed up to donate a free ride home––one guy even rented a cab for 12 hours. No joke. It wasn’t just inspiring, it was a Hallmark moment on wheels.

Volunteers drove as far as Pampanga, Olongapo, Isabela, Cabanatuan and Baguio. One victim landed and said he needed to go to Cagayan De Oro. As a joke, the Oplan Hatid team announced it on the loudspeaker. To their surprise, a volunteer actually put his hand up, drove the guy to the airport and bought him a ticket. Same thing happened for 20 other people who needed to go to Cebu. 

One company driver who was asked by his boss to work overtime was so touched after doing two trips that he refused to take his pay for the day. Another lady, Pie Palpallatoc, wrote this on my wall after finishing her first run. 

“I also had apprehensions of taking in strangers with us but we decided to go for it. I realized after meeting the families that they are more scared than us and that they are the ones who are entrusting their families to us with the hope that they will be reunited with their Manila-based family soon. 

If you are concerned about where your donations go, this is one way of making sure they go straight to the typhoon victims. Aling Maribel’s family only had the clothes they were wearing and a chair they brought all the way from Tacloban that had sentimental value after it saved them. 

I took her to the Pasig Palengke for some clothes and supplies so they can finally take a bath after five days of sleeping and waiting at the airport rain or shine. This is where we met a kind-hearted tindera who gave ussix6 more pairs of shorts for free. That blew me away. God bless her! 

Finally, they kept on thanking us from Villamor all the way to Montalban. I really wasn’t sure how to respond to it at first, but then I suddenly remembered the movie Pay It Forward. So I told her to pay it forward when they are already able to.

Another volunteer, Francisco Guerrero writes, “I was photographing an elderly man who had head, arm and leg bandages. He was being asked where he needed to go and who his family in Manila was. You had to see the look on his face when one of volunteers stepped in and said he could drive him there.”

These are just some of the hundreds of stories you will hear in Oplan Hatid. Because more than just a ride, we are offering them love, care and respect.   

Because while theoretically they may both achieve the same thing, it is one thing entirely to hand over cash to grab a cab than it is doing the deed yourself. Sure they both get you to where you need to go, but the difference between transporting and supporting is everything to a person who has nothing. 

Thank you again to all our angels on wheels.