Giving back

It was the first day of classes for all public schools when a strong earthquake shook General Santos City and affected other parts of Mindanao. Several videos surfaced showing children in fear, severely traumatized by the incident. We found out how damaging that quake was, killing more than 50 individuals and displacing more than 700,000. The scenes that played out were quite similar to what we encountered in the previous year, sending us into a feeling of resonating with them on a personal level.

Just as our Filipino values taught us, there is the concept of giving back. It is not quite like indebtedness or utang na loob, but rather our innate will to help those in need. Many local government units in Cebu were quick to shell out a portion of their funding for the affected areas. Bohol also sent a group of disaster responders to aid in the search and rescue operations. All these are things we also experienced to varying degrees when disaster hit. The Filipino word is "damayan" --being there for each other without having to demand so much from the national government.

It isn't clear to me if this is good or bad, especially when we need to demand so much from the national government. We also have to understand how the government works. The government, in general, does not magically fix problems in a snap. Disaster response is a long process. It starts with saving lives and accounting for the missing. Then comes temporary shelters, food packs, water supplies, and medical assistance. Eventually, attention shifts to rebuilding homes, restoring livelihoods, and helping communities recover. None of these happen overnight, no matter how urgent the need may be.

Perhaps this is why communities often step in long before larger systems can fully mobilize. Neighbors help neighbors. Local governments coordinate with one another. Civic groups, churches, and private citizens find ways to contribute. Sometimes it is money. Sometimes it is equipment. Sometimes it is simply manpower and presence. I remember how many people from outside Cebu reached out when we experienced our own disasters. Some sent donations. Others volunteered their time. Many had no direct connection to the affected communities, yet they chose to help anyway. In moments like these, geography becomes less important. What matters is the recognition that suffering in one place concerns all of us.

There is something reassuring about seeing this happen again for Mindanao. Amid all the political noise and divisions that dominate public discourse, ordinary Filipinos continue to demonstrate that sense of shared responsibility. We often criticize ourselves for our shortcomings as a nation, and many of those criticisms are valid. Yet when tragedy strikes, we are reminded that compassion remains one of our strongest national traits. Giving back is not always about returning a favor. It is about remembering that we were once in the same position and disaster can visit anyone, at any time. In the end, it is simply about recognizing that another community's recovery is also part of our collective recovery as a nation.