Stories of horror and hope

Bayanihan — a Filipino term referring to the spirit of camaraderie, fraternity, and solidarity in people who join arms to accomplish a common goal. It didn’t seem possible — a calamity unlike any that had hit the nation, wreaking havoc, destroying most if not everything in its tracks. Its name was Ondoy. As of Sept. 30, around 246 deaths have been reported by the National Disaster Coordinating Council, with numbers still rising, and a lot still missing, perhaps buried underneath the piles of mud and dirt, or ruins caused by the flood.

Kirk Damasco, restaurant owner and proprietor of Ateneo T-shirt brand Get Blued, shares: “We don’t feel it so much when it’s a statistic. But at the moment when people we personally know are texting or tweeting for help, it’s a different a story.”

Newscasts, in the absence of electricity and television, came in the form of status messages, tweets and re-tweets from personalities like Bianca Gonzales, TJ Manotoc, and Jiggy Aquino-Cruz, enabling faster response and more efficient information dissemination. Rescue came in the form of students and individuals who were on standby 24/7.

News came out through Twitter last Saturday of the heroic Ateneo Rowing Team buying toy rafts and paddling out to rescue people stranded in Provident Village in Marikina, while GMA-7 star Richard Gutierrez was reported to have rescued actress Christine Reyes who was stuck on the roof of her Provident home.

Kirk was right. These were no longer events or horror stories from a parallel universe or images you’d simply see on TV. The eyewitnesses, casualties and survivors were the same people we know personally or through friends on Facebook or Twitter.

Jowee Alvier, owner of graphic design studio and apparel brand Team Manila, relates that one of their members had been stuck in Provident Village and couldn’t get out for days. Restaurateur Gaita Fores and Greyone and Trilogy Boutique owner Rosario Herrera share that several of their employees had requested not to go to work last Saturday due to the immense floods that ruptured their area.

Gaita Fores shares: “The feeling of helplessness is something that can’t be explained.” According to one victim, the flood outside her house was waist deep and would start to penetrate her son’s room at some point. As endless as the rain seemed, so was the support from thousands of individuals and volunteers who came out to help.

Several packing stations, relief centers, and drop-off points have sprouted out all over the Metro. These included places like the Sanctuario de San Antonio Church in Forbes Park wherein the parish youth, led by JJ Yulo, would sort out donations and package them for distribution to the Balay Expo along EDSA. White Space along Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati, courtesy of Monique Villongc, opened its doors to volunteers. Sonja Ocampo of Sonja’s Cupcakes, Illac Diaz, Denise Laurel, and DJ Euric Lumanog were among the many people who came out to pack 2,000 bags for day two of the Makati group’s relief operations.

Schools such as the Assumption School, San Lorenzo Village, La Salle Greenhills, headed by De La Salle University Alumnus Jaime Atayde, University of Asia and the Pacific, Enderun College in Taguig which prepared meals for thousands of devastated families, and Ateneo de Manila University also opened their doors for relief operations, and in some areas, to refugees who sought temporary shelter.

Former Blue Eagle Chris Tiu shares: “We’re lucky in that a lot of us here weren’t so badly affected by the typhoon. But what’s good is that that a lot of here today realize that we have the responsibility to help our fellow Filipinos who are suffering.”  

Actress Mylene Dizon, who joined the ranks of models Isabelle Daza and Bea Soriano in helping out in the relief operations at La Salle Greenhills, shares: “The youth are the ones who have the energy to do this. They’re here from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. sorting, packing and carrying goods. Together, we have been able to move mountains.” Similarly, La Sallian Martin Atayde shares, “We’re basically outnumbering the adults now so we should altogether bust our asses to help out,” warning that bitching about it online is simply not enough. Atenean and La Sallian sisters Tammy and Cathy Aquino add, “The youth has the energy to work and gather a lot of people through Twitter or Facebook. It just goes to show that we’re not that passive or apathetic anymore.”

Trilogy Boutique’s Rosario Herrera adds, “This is a generation of change and a generation of action. With Team Manila and Greyone Social showing that we can roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty, it proves that you don’t have to be a superhero to help. Anybody can go out there and help in their own little way.” Team Manila’s Jowee Alvier quips, “Instant updates. Instant information,” to which Rosario adds, “More people knew where to go rather than waiting for mass media and government announcements.” At the same moment, Vera Apuzen, a graphic design intern, enters the Team Manila store along Jupiter Street, Makati to give her donation to the store’s relief operations. Like many other donors or volunteers who have trooped to relief centers, she heard about it through Facebook, and had this to say about the youth: “We’re very gung-ho about helping out as opposed to the government where you have to go through a lot of red tape to get things done. The youth: we’re unstoppable.”

 The private sector, the youth, and the indomitable human spirit will not be defeated. A sleeping giant has been awoken, in which truth purveyor and star witness Jun Lozada, who was with his sons volunteering at La Salle, says: “You can sense that the youth care more now. I always just saw them as a Facebook, Warcraft kind of generation. And my sons, without even my prompting, came out here to man the relief desk and help out. I was proud of them… When we come together and act will things happen in this country. Hopefully the youth continue, after the death of Tita Cory and passing of Typhoon Ondoy, with this culture of consciousness and greater involvement.” 

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