NORTH COTABATO, Philippines – Members of the provincial government’s relief mission “Tabang Leyte, Tara Na†have returned to North Cotabato with tales of Filipino volunteerism at its best.
"Tabang" means help in most Visayan and Southern Mindanao dialects.
Jimmy Santa Cruz, an information staff of North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Talino-Mendoza, said they saw during their relief operations last week in Ormoc City how Filipinos from across the country helped provide relief and rehabilitation services to victims of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in the area.
“The Filipino `bayanihan spirit’ virtually filled the air. Filipinos from different parts of the country, and foreigners from abroad were helping the typhoon victims together. What a sight. So touching,†Santa Cruz said.
The provincial government’s relief team, led by Jessie Enid, brought some 20 tons of relief supplies to Ormoc City last week.
The group had served thousands of residents in three barangays, Margen, Bagong Buhay and San Isidro, and the Puerto Bello District in nearby Merida town.
Enid, who is Mendoza’s executive assistant on health programs, said they were deeply touched by the scenes in the villages flattened by the typhoon.
Enid, however, said while community leaders in Ormoc City were saddened by the deaths and devastation typhoon Yolanda had caused, they remained optimistic their constituents could bounce back and rise again.
The "Tabang Leyte, Tara Na" mission distributed food packs comprised of rice, canned sardines, instant noodles, and medicines for common ailments, according to Enid.
Santa Cruz has quoted Cristina Ramos, the barangay chairperson of Margen, which is located near the Ormoc City proper, as appreciating the relief efforts of the North Cotabato provincial government.
“We really need help here. Aside from having lost our homes, we also lost our means of livelihood. It is a blessing that you people from North Cotabato came to help,†Ramos said in a video footage taken by members of the provincial relief and rehabilitation team.
Enid said North Cotabato's relief mission was coordinated with the central office of the Department of Health.
Enid said credit for their successful relief operations in Ormoc City also goes to the inter-agency provincial disaster risk reduction and management council, which helped in sending the mission.