CEBU CITY – Cebuanos from all walks of life trooped to various donation centers around the city, carrying used clothing, canned goods, bottled water, blankets and pillows, kitchen utensils, sacks of rice, and a lot more for victims of Typhoon Ondoy in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon.

The Cebu City government, together with JCI-Cebu, established one such center along the Fuente Osmeña oval in the heart of the last Monday and the number of donations dropped there has been “overwhelming,” according to Zapatera Barangay Chairman Jomari Benedicto, point person for the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council.

“There has been an outpouring of donations from Cebuanos,” he said. “People have been coming here in cars, vans, motorcycles, jeepneys, bicycles, and other modes of transport even as some people just walked to get here and give their share.”

In 24 hours Tuesday, one Cebu City bus was filled with relief goods and several boxes of goods were already mounting. The spirit of volunteerism was evident among both Cebuanos and foreigners in the city who also helped in transferring relief goods from the action center to buses deployed to transport the donated goods.

A group of Korean students offered their services at the action center, helping in sorting out the donations and loading them to the awaiting bus. The Koreans are students enrolled at the Major Development Language Learning Center in Cebu City.

“I related to my class about what has happened in Manila and told them that they can donate through various donation centers in Cebu and they offered their services,” said instructor Daphne Teo, who tagged along with five Korean students.

Cebu City Vice-Mayor Michael Rama said the city hopes to send food, clothing and blankets to the flood victims.
He also encouraged Cebuanos to be prepared for disasters all the time.

The Provincial Government will also be giving cash assistance to the affected local government units.

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said the provincial government will be giving cash assistance to the affected local government units in Metro Manila. “This is not the first time that the province is doing this,” she said, adding that the amount to be given “will considerably be higher than what we have given in the past because the magnitude (of the disaster) is unexpected and unbelievable,” she said.

In 2006, Garcia also extended financial assistance amounting to P12 million to victims calamities in Metro Manila, but it was coursed through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The private sector is also mobilizing its resources for the affected victims of Typhoon Ondoy in Luzon.

For instance, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, through its Chief Reputation Officer, Sebastian Lacson Tuesday said various companies under the Aboitiz Group are pooling P2-million worth of donations in kind that have been packed and turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for distribution in Manila.

In an interview with Manila Bulletin, Lacson said the Aboitiz Group of Companies nationwide, including the Visayan Electric Company (VECO), Davao Light & Power Company, and 2GO, among others, have been set up as relief centers for anyone wishing to drop their donations for the typhoon victims.

Theresa Gonzales of the Aboitiz Group of Companies’ Corporate Communications said non-perishable items like canned goods, clothes, powdered milk, uncooked rice, used clothing, and blankets are preferred.