Bus firm cancels party, gives aid to 'Pablo' victims

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – As a gesture of giving back to its passengers, who are typhoon survivors too, the Vallacar Transport Inc. called off its Christmas party and donated its Christmas party budget.

John Billena, administrative manager, said the management  donated P2.5 million Christmas party budget for the relief aid of the typhoon survivors in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental provinces.   

Billena said the company, which has at least 10,000 employees nationwide, has supposedly allocated P200 for each employee for their Christmas party.

The Christmas party budget was used to buy  food and non-food items for the calamity victims, he added.  The company owner also added P500,000 for the relief aid, the bus company official said.

Vallacar Transport Inc.  operates the Bachelor Express and Rural Transport Mindanao Inc (RTMI). It is the largest bus fleet in the country, operating in major routes in Visayas, Mindanao and in some parts of Luzon.

Vallacar also owns the Ceres bus line in  the Visayas region.

The employees started to sort the relief items since Saturday at  the company's headquarters in barangay Maa.

The relief aid, which was placed inside 6,600 pails, contain three kilos of rice, five cans of sardines, five packs of noodles, assorted medicines, laundry soap, blanket and bed sheets.

Billena said eight buses transported the relief on December 18 to the heavily-affected towns in New Bataan, Compostela, Monkayo and Montevisita, all in Compostela Valley Province; and in Baganga, Boston, and Cateel towns in Davao Oriental.

Employees are victims, too

He said about 30 employees of its Davao operation were also affected by the typhoon.

Aside from the calamity loan that the employees have availed of, Billena said the company also extended P2,000 financial assistance.

The calamity loan is equivalent to the employees’ one month salary.

Bus conductor Arnel Rinconada said that he was on a five-day rest at his hometown in Baganga when the storm made the landfall.

Rinconada, who is from Barangay Kinablangan, said he hid under the table inside their house, which was made of light materials.

He was alone in the house when he noticed the surge of strong winds around 2 a.m. on December 4.

“Only the concrete floor of our house was left after hours of strong winds,” said Rinconada, whose parents were in Maramag ,Bukidnon when the storm hit.

When he received his pay on December 15, the 22-year old bus employee said that he immediately bought food and other needed items for his family.

Riconada also joined the company’s relief operation. But he was assigned to Boston-bound bus that will deliver the aid.

Company nurse May Gallo will also join the relief operations in Cateel.

Gallo, whose family hails from Baganga, said her relatives’ house was also blown away when the storm hit.

“My relatives also suffered sunburns because there are no trees left there, everything was blown away,” she said.

Giving back to the passengers

As the bridge in Baganga was cut off, making the town inaccessible from Mati City, Billena said the destruction affected 10 percent of its operation.

He added that the owner immediately responded to the needs of the typhoon victims since many of them are their passengers,too.

“We are just giving back to typhoon survivors, who are our passengers too,” Billena said.