Planning and preparation:

A few days before Christmas, the Philippines was again hit by another disaster brought about by tropical storm Sendong that struck various parts of Visayas and Mindanao in the early morning of December 16. The cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan were particularly devastated by flash floods resulting to a large number of casualties and destruction of properties.

There was difficulty in coordinating with local counterparts from Region X since the lines of communication in the said region were damaged. Even then, through insistent efforts and with the help of other government agencies, the FTH, through its representative who was in the Philippines at that time, Ms. Teresita Alarcon, and the CFO was able to contact Mr. Emmanuel Borres, Chief Administrative Officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region X. Mr. Borres provided the initial data and statistics on the damage caused to Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City.

Based on the reports, the FTH, decided to help the victims of two barangays, Carmen and Balulang, which have about 736 and 1,000 affected families. The said areas were two of the most greatly affected by the floods, and had the most number of casualties.

One of the concerns that arose was the availability of supplies and merchandise to be given out to the disaster victims. Relief items, such as bottled water, biscuits, canned goods and instant noodles in grocery stores were already in short supply due to large demand. Materials could not be brought in Manila and shipped to Cagayan de Oro since it will entail additional cost. The FTH and CFO coordinated with merchandisers in the area who would be able to provide bulk orders within a short period of time. SM Savemore Kauswagan (through Ms. Esmie Calimlim) and Robinsons Cagayan de Oro (through Ms. Dekka Moldero) heeded the request and agreed / trusted to transact through email and mobile phone. Both businesses agreed to prepare, pack and deliver the relief items, free of charge, in the spirit of altruism.

After the exhaustive planning and preparation, the FTH-CFO team, of Ms. Alarcon, Ms. Giselle Pastoriza and Mr. Erwin Paul Cristobal, set to proceed to Cagayan de Oro on December 27. But due to an unexpected, sensitive eye condition, Ms. Alarcon was not given the clearance by her physician to join the team. Ms. Pastoriza and Mr. Cristobal, were also not able to depart from Manila on the early morning of the 27^th as scheduled since flights were cancelled due bad weather conditions at the port of destination. They instead left the next day, and amidst the hindrances, and driven with much enthusiasm to rescue and help out with the victims, the team carried on.

Arrival and implementation in CDO

December 28, 2011

The team arrived in Cagayan de Oro City at around 9:30 am via Cebu Pacific. They proceeded to the DSWD Regional Office and meet Mr. Borres for the final instructions before the first scheduled implementation in Brgy. Carmen. The CFO personnel went to Brgy. Carmen Hall, which was sheltering the affected families. Consequently, Mr. Borres endorsed the team to one of the members of his staff, Mr. Serofino, who explained the system of they are implementing for relief operations to ensure peace and order. The team was briefed about the issuance of the “yellow card” to the affected families, which serves as their identification or ticket to claim relief assistance proving that they are bonafide residents of the affected areas. Upon the said visit, the team also handed a donation of dinner plates from the CFO.

Ms. Pastoriza and Mr. Cristobal paid a visit to the city hall to report about the operation they are undertaking, and asked for further assistance for the implementation in Brgy. Balulang the next day since. They have been repeatedly reminded or advised to prepare themselves since there were reports of residents who are rude and aggressive (a significant number were Muslims) when receiving rations or assistance. The team were received by Ms. Nina Salon, the Officer-in-Charge of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) who promised to let some of her staff assist in Balulang.

It was around 3:00pm when the team arrived in Brgy Carmen together with the first batch of delivery of the relief items by Savemore. They were received and guided by Ms. Maridel, the DSWD representative in the site, who was with four (4) other volunteers. It took six (6) trips for Savemore personnel to complete the loading and delivery of all the relief items. Ms. Calimlim of Savemore also provided eight (8) of their merchandisers / personnel to help and assist in the loading and distribution of the goods. The affected families on the list were served, and some excess relief goods were distributed among those others who were given “yellow cards” on that same day. The said area was organized since there were barangay tanods and other volunteers pacifying the crowd. People were very appreciative of the water and other goods provided to them since they have been experiencing water shortage, and lack of food. They have been staying in the evacuation center for the past several days. The said implementation lasted until 9:00pm.

December 29, 2011

Ms. Pastoriza and Mr. Cristobal conducted separate and simultaneous activities on the second leg of the relief operation to save time. At 8:00am, Ms. Pastoriza facilitated the loading and shipment of the relief goods to Xavier Heights covered court where the victims from Upper Balulang were staying. Meanwhile, Mr. Cristobal headed back to the municipal hall to meet and take the CSWD representative assigned by Ms. Salon to assist in the implementation. It was around 9:00am when they met on the site and were received by a representative of DSWD Region X assigned in the area. It took five (5) trips of loading and delivery of goods before the distribution started. Out of the 1,000 relief bags allotted for Balulang, only 300 were given in the covered court to serve the victims from Upper Balulang, and the other 700 were directed to the barangay hall of Villa Angelina accommodating the affected families from Lower Balulang, specifically Sitio Ilaya. The remaining relief bags were given to the care of the DSWD representatives for them to distribute to other affected families.