A shining moment for Filipinos
December 12, 2004 | 12:00am
It was the day the nation came forward. It was the day the Filipinos’ spirit of volunteerism shone.
A series of typhoons struck. There was no time to waste. Typhoon Winnie wreaked havoc on the provinces of Aurora and Quezon, and relief goods were badly needed for starving victims. To make matters worse, super typhoon Yoyong was on its way to the Philippines.
Once the appeal for volunteers and donations was aired by ABS-CBN’s DZMM, ANC, RNG (Regional Network Group), and Channel 2, donations and volunteers arrived in droves at the relief operations base at 65 Scout Gandia, Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City.
This was after a telethon was set up by ABS-CBN with veteran broadcaster Tina Monzon-Palma as over-all coordinator. She was, in fact, just appointed head of public service of the entire ABS-CBN group.
One of the first groups to answer the call for volunteers was Manila North Tollways Corporation’s patrolmen who from day one worked in three shifts consisting of 20 volunteers per shift. They took care of their own meals and even brought along with them three service vehicles. Another group of regular volunteers was the marines from the Naval Reserve Command from the Fourth Marine Brigade.
A lot of students, in groups, came to volunteer. Each group was just asked to register and off to work they went, sorting out goods and repacking. Students from San Sebastian College, UP, St. Paul, La Salle, University of Makati, St. Agustin School of Nursing, Letran, Colegio de San Lorenzo, Ramon Magsaysay High School, FEU, and others, came. Organizations like the Firefly Brigade, Gawad Kalinga, Motorcycle Association, PARAC, Escudo Demolay, SIA, ADTREK, Girl Scouts of the Philippines, First Philippine Holdings, and more also came to help repack.
There were instances where families walked in, and seeing the urgency of the situation, offered to help, for the day. Some mothers would just drop off their children to do volunteer work and would fetch them after a few hours. Ages ranged from eight to 79 years.
Donations came in 24 hours. A man in a bicycle dropped by and wanted to share part of his earnings for the day, P50. "Eto lang ang matutulong ko," he said. "Puwede na po ba to? Ito lang ang kaya kong ibigay." He was applauded by the volunteers.
Other donors whose intention was just to drop off their goods, ended up spending four hours or more to help in the repacking which was getting voluminous as days two and three came.
Two studios, 14 and 16, being used for the production of educational TV shows, were commandeered for the storage and receiving of what now seemed like a never-ending cycle of relief good. Even Buknoy the magical jeep of Sine’skwela became depository for the bags of volunteers.
By day four, as typhoon Yoyong left, Amoranto Sports Center’s basketball court at A. Roces Ave., Quezon City was likewise commandeered courtesy of Mayor Sonny Belmonte, to store the goods for a few days.
At one time, while the volunteers were eating their sandwiches prepared by the ABS-CBN Foundation staff, a group of women from Bulacan, who came to donate used clothes, saw the volunteers and what they were eating. The next day, they came back with three party-size bilaos of noodles and puto to feed the volunteers, who by this time averaged 300 per day. Even home economics students from UP volunteered to cook lunch and dinner for the volunteers.
Even nuns from RVM and St. Paul and priests came to help repack goods. San Carlos seminarians, from Guadalupe, Makati, who numbered 30, gladly came for the graveyard shift, from midnight till 6 a.m. last Dec 4.
Saturday morning saw ABS-CBN’s top boss Gabby Lopez accompanied by Monchet Olives touring the different sites. Also last weekend, a delegation from the Buddha Light International Association Philippines, led by their master, came to drop off their 2,500 packs of relief goods. Earlier, they turned over a check donation for Sagip Kapamilya.
Gina Lopez, in a telephone conversation with Infanta Bishop Rolando Tirona, whose diocese was the most devastated, reiterated the foundation’s support in terms of relief goods and rehabilitation.
Monday and Tuesday, donations continued to pour in. An envelope, which contained P200 and a note saying, "sana makatulong ito sa mga biktima ng bagyo," arrived in the mail, with no return address.
Volunteers came and went, still feeling the urgency of the moment. "People are dying of hunger," a volunteer was heard saying. "I have to repack faster."
Relief goods were immediately dispatched to Aurora and Quezon provinces, Catanduanes, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Cagayan Valley, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Pampanga, Oriental Mindoro, Montalban, Rizal, Camarines Sur, and Naga. The Corporate Network for Disaster Response (CNDR) also helped in distributing relief goods.
Even at the height of typhoon Yoyong, the restless drivers of Goliath, the name given to the foundation’s six-wheeler truck used in relief operations during the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo and other super typhoons, kept on prodding their dispatcher to allow them to leave for Quezon province. "Maam," said Ted and Dick, "Kaya pong tahakin ni Goliath itong bagyo! Makarating lang po kami agad sa mga nagugutom na mga biktima!" Goliath made it to Nueva Ecija and Dingalan, Aurora, after 12 hours, with 1,000 packs of goods.
And as the relief goods, usually accompanied by a Sagip Kapamilya volunteer, finally reached the typhoon victims, not only did tears flow from the eyes of the recipients, but also from the volunteers at the relief operation centers, while listening on radio and watching the scene on television of the arrival of the goods they packed, goods that helped saved lives.
It was indeed a shining moment for volunteers.
A series of typhoons struck. There was no time to waste. Typhoon Winnie wreaked havoc on the provinces of Aurora and Quezon, and relief goods were badly needed for starving victims. To make matters worse, super typhoon Yoyong was on its way to the Philippines.
Once the appeal for volunteers and donations was aired by ABS-CBN’s DZMM, ANC, RNG (Regional Network Group), and Channel 2, donations and volunteers arrived in droves at the relief operations base at 65 Scout Gandia, Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City.
This was after a telethon was set up by ABS-CBN with veteran broadcaster Tina Monzon-Palma as over-all coordinator. She was, in fact, just appointed head of public service of the entire ABS-CBN group.
One of the first groups to answer the call for volunteers was Manila North Tollways Corporation’s patrolmen who from day one worked in three shifts consisting of 20 volunteers per shift. They took care of their own meals and even brought along with them three service vehicles. Another group of regular volunteers was the marines from the Naval Reserve Command from the Fourth Marine Brigade.
A lot of students, in groups, came to volunteer. Each group was just asked to register and off to work they went, sorting out goods and repacking. Students from San Sebastian College, UP, St. Paul, La Salle, University of Makati, St. Agustin School of Nursing, Letran, Colegio de San Lorenzo, Ramon Magsaysay High School, FEU, and others, came. Organizations like the Firefly Brigade, Gawad Kalinga, Motorcycle Association, PARAC, Escudo Demolay, SIA, ADTREK, Girl Scouts of the Philippines, First Philippine Holdings, and more also came to help repack.
There were instances where families walked in, and seeing the urgency of the situation, offered to help, for the day. Some mothers would just drop off their children to do volunteer work and would fetch them after a few hours. Ages ranged from eight to 79 years.
Donations came in 24 hours. A man in a bicycle dropped by and wanted to share part of his earnings for the day, P50. "Eto lang ang matutulong ko," he said. "Puwede na po ba to? Ito lang ang kaya kong ibigay." He was applauded by the volunteers.
Other donors whose intention was just to drop off their goods, ended up spending four hours or more to help in the repacking which was getting voluminous as days two and three came.
Two studios, 14 and 16, being used for the production of educational TV shows, were commandeered for the storage and receiving of what now seemed like a never-ending cycle of relief good. Even Buknoy the magical jeep of Sine’skwela became depository for the bags of volunteers.
By day four, as typhoon Yoyong left, Amoranto Sports Center’s basketball court at A. Roces Ave., Quezon City was likewise commandeered courtesy of Mayor Sonny Belmonte, to store the goods for a few days.
At one time, while the volunteers were eating their sandwiches prepared by the ABS-CBN Foundation staff, a group of women from Bulacan, who came to donate used clothes, saw the volunteers and what they were eating. The next day, they came back with three party-size bilaos of noodles and puto to feed the volunteers, who by this time averaged 300 per day. Even home economics students from UP volunteered to cook lunch and dinner for the volunteers.
Even nuns from RVM and St. Paul and priests came to help repack goods. San Carlos seminarians, from Guadalupe, Makati, who numbered 30, gladly came for the graveyard shift, from midnight till 6 a.m. last Dec 4.
Saturday morning saw ABS-CBN’s top boss Gabby Lopez accompanied by Monchet Olives touring the different sites. Also last weekend, a delegation from the Buddha Light International Association Philippines, led by their master, came to drop off their 2,500 packs of relief goods. Earlier, they turned over a check donation for Sagip Kapamilya.
Gina Lopez, in a telephone conversation with Infanta Bishop Rolando Tirona, whose diocese was the most devastated, reiterated the foundation’s support in terms of relief goods and rehabilitation.
Monday and Tuesday, donations continued to pour in. An envelope, which contained P200 and a note saying, "sana makatulong ito sa mga biktima ng bagyo," arrived in the mail, with no return address.
Volunteers came and went, still feeling the urgency of the moment. "People are dying of hunger," a volunteer was heard saying. "I have to repack faster."
Relief goods were immediately dispatched to Aurora and Quezon provinces, Catanduanes, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Cagayan Valley, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Pampanga, Oriental Mindoro, Montalban, Rizal, Camarines Sur, and Naga. The Corporate Network for Disaster Response (CNDR) also helped in distributing relief goods.
Even at the height of typhoon Yoyong, the restless drivers of Goliath, the name given to the foundation’s six-wheeler truck used in relief operations during the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo and other super typhoons, kept on prodding their dispatcher to allow them to leave for Quezon province. "Maam," said Ted and Dick, "Kaya pong tahakin ni Goliath itong bagyo! Makarating lang po kami agad sa mga nagugutom na mga biktima!" Goliath made it to Nueva Ecija and Dingalan, Aurora, after 12 hours, with 1,000 packs of goods.
And as the relief goods, usually accompanied by a Sagip Kapamilya volunteer, finally reached the typhoon victims, not only did tears flow from the eyes of the recipients, but also from the volunteers at the relief operation centers, while listening on radio and watching the scene on television of the arrival of the goods they packed, goods that helped saved lives.
It was indeed a shining moment for volunteers.
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