Rotary Club of Makati, Philippines

Saturday, the 8th of October, was a long day for Pres. Rene Limjoco, PDG Tony Quila, Aris del Mundo and Baby Rtn. Mandy Pascual, long on hours spent on the road but way longer on fulfillment felt, the kind that comes with having done a good turn for people in great need. Their mission: to distribute goods to over 800 families in a relief campaign made possible by the generosity of 38 Rotarians and one Ann.

They left the office at 7:00 AM and arrived back at 11:00PM—spending 16 hours on the road, motoring from place to place through bad roads, some rendered impassable by floodwaters that haven’t subsided enough, and through gnarled traffic that in many places slowed to a crawl.
Two closed vans, graciously provided by Aris from his printing press, transported the goods to three relief operation sites in Central Luzon—Hagonoy in Bulacan, Macabebe in Pampanga, and La Paz in Tarlac. Three Club staffers—Ronnel Dotaro, Peter Manlangit and John Palmiano---came along to handle details of transportation, distribution and documentation.

The first leg brought them to Hagonoy, one of two towns that suffered the worst inundation in Bulacan from three fronts: the rains dumped by Typhoon Pedring on 27th September and Typhoon Quiel on 1st October, the resulting overflow from two swollen rivers, Pampanga and Angat, and the water released from two dams, Angat and Ipo, in danger of a spillover.

They were met at the town hall by Mayor Angel Lontok, who briefed them on the situation in his town, how it came about, and what areas were in need of immediate assistance. He explained that the town is flanked by the Pampanga and Angat Rivers and is easily flooded when either of them overflows its banks. With a police detail-escort, the Rotarians proceeded to Brgy. San Isidro but, stalled on a flooded road, had to inch back via another route to the town hall, where Mayor Lontok gave them an alternate site, Brgy. San Jose.

In Brgy. San Jose, 200 recipients were let into the churchyard, five at a time, to receive the packed goods from the Rotarians. Keeping in mind the request of the flood victims for drinking water and foods that require no cooking, the bags were packed with assorted canned goods (tuna, sausage, sardines), instant noodles, assorted breads, and bottled water, plus rubber slippers and used clothes. It was past 11:00 AM when the party moved out of Hagonoy for the trip to Apalit, Pampanga, which took an hour and a half. They were met by PP Ric Yabut and Rtn Bot of our Brother Club, RC Central Pampanga. From there they proceeded to Macabebe, but had to take a detour because the road that connects the two towns was still flooded and therefore not passable. It was 1:30 PM when the group finally made it to the Macabebe town hall, where they were welcomed by Mayor Annette Balgan. The vans carrying the goods had, however, been held up on the flooded streets but, with a little help from the people, got through and arrived at the second site, albeit a bit late.

After a late but hearty lunch hosted by Mayor Annette, the RCM party walked to a basketball court across the town hall for the distribution of relief goods to 300 recipients, who, they found out, had been waiting patiently since 11:00AM. Mayor Annette and PP Ric had done an excellent job of organizing the operation by seeing to it that only the intended beneficiaries, who had earlier been issued properly-marked tickets, stood in line to receive the goods. Aside from the bags, each recipient also received a cash gift of P50 from PDG Tony Quila. Pres. Rene also gave Mayor Annette 120 sleeping mats for possible future use in evacuation centers.

It was 4:00PM by the time the 300th beneficiary was served, and the group was three hours behind schedule. Although they traveled on the sleek SCTEX, it was not until 6:00PM that they arrived in Tarlac City. They were met by members of another Brother Club, RC Midtown Tarlac, who escorted them tothe third distribution site, Brgy. Lomboy in La Paz town.

Orchestrated by PDG Jaypee Cadaing, a “classmate” of PDG Tony’s, the Tarlac relief operation saw the participation of RC Midtown members led by Pres. Gen Razon. Also on hand to provide support were PP Vic Miranda, PP Dhong Soliman, Dir. Imma Aganon, Sec. Angela Sambile, Rtn. Jess Soliman, and Pres. Razon’s daughter Ashley. The selection of the 300 beneficiaries had been handled by the local government through Councilor Willie Corcuera, Kagawad Rhoda Santos, and Marlyn Ocampo of the MSWD. Again the recipients each received a bag of goodies and a P50 cash gift from PDG Tony Quila.

By the time the day’s work was done, darkness had settled in. The RC Midtown Tarlac Rotarians treated the RC Makati group to a sumptuous Chinese dinner at Fortune Restaurant in Tarlac City. Before driving off, the Makati Rotarians handed the remaining 150 sleeping mats to the Tarlac Rotarians, theirs to keep for future use.
Pres. Rene, PDG Tony, Aris and Manny arrived in Manila at about 11:00 PM tired and sleepy, but happy. They had spent 16 hours in 3 provinces, sharing gifts from the Club and its members with 800+ families who had suffered much and were in dire need of help. By showing up and extending a helping hand, they showed the best face of Rotary and the heart of a true Rotarian.

There are many ways to spend a Saturday. That must have been one of the best.