December 3, 2025
Bringing healing amid disaster relief efforts
By Dorothy Castro
After waiting in line with her two young sons at the Sisters of Mary Girlstown in Talisay, Cebu, since the early morning of November 28, Mae Matabaran didn’t just receive claim stubs for relief items earmarked for survivors of Typhoon Tino.
Tzu Chi Foundation, which organized the two-day relief operation for over 6,000 displaced beneficiaries, also set up a consultation area for general and pediatric medicine on November 28 and 29. The service was run for free by four volunteer doctors of Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA).
Matabaran, whose sons developed colds as they recovered from the typhoon’s effects, received free medicines and vitamins for her boys.
“This is a big help, especially because after the flooding, we had lost all of our belongings. We are so grateful that we were able to receive relief items, and also free check-up and medicine for the children,” she said.
Natural calamities like typhoons and earthquakes, both of which Cebu experienced in recent months, disrupt lives: they destroy homes, affect livelihood, and impact the health of communities.
At evacuation centers, the cramped spaces and limited ventilation can lead to colds, coughs, and other communicable diseases. Residents who lost their homes and all their belongings to Typhoon Tino’s raging floodwater, may no longer have their maintenance medicines on hand. And people who waded through floods are vulnerable to leptospirosis.
Besides the common colds and coughs, Typhoon Tino survivors complained of joint pain, toothache, vertigo, and other conditions. Pain relievers helped ease their discomfort until they were able to see a specialist for their particular case.
Drs. Andrea Bonife Ibañez, Edil-Joshua Ganas, and Rizma Uckung-Luy—all former Tzu Chi Zamboanga scholars and now licensed physicians—attended to beneficiaries seeking a medical consult. Working alongside them was TIMA volunteer doctor Benito Lim Hong III.
“We did not expect this to be such a large-scale effort,” says Dr. Ibañez, who began the medical consultations at eight in the morning but continued to cater to patients without pause. “If we don’t treat these conditions, even simple coughs and colds, they can spread among the other evacuees since most of them are staying in evacuation areas. That’s why they need urgent care.”
That urgent care was accorded to 301 beneficiaries in two days. It’s all in a day’s work for TIMA’s volunteer doctors.
“Master Cheng Yen always reminds us that if the suffering people cannot come out, then we, those who are privileged and blessed, should reach out to them,” said Dr. Hong.
You can send your donations through bank deposit to:
METROBANK, Del Monte Branch
Account Name: Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Philippines
Account Number: 163-3-16307190-9
BDO
Account Name: Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Philippines
Account Number: 011-9-7800180-0
Please send a copy of deposit slips or bank transaction confirmations via email at donations@tzuchi.org.ph or through Viber/Line/Wechat +639672110940
DSWD Solicitation Permit No.: DSWD-SB-PSP-S-2025-000072
Tzu Chi International Medical Association member and volunteer Dr. Benito Lim Hong III helps assess patients.
Tzu Chi brought medicines and vitamins for various ailments and concerns in a free medical consultation organized alongside the relief operations on November 28-29 at the Sisters of Mary School – Girlstown in Talisay, Cebu.
Tzu Chi scholar alumni and now a volunteer doctor Edil-Joshua Ganas helps provide medical consultations for the elderly.
Beneficiaries of Tzu Chi’s relief operations for Typhoon Tino took advantage of the free medical consultation for general and pediatric medicine run by volunteer doctors of Tzu Chi International Medical Association.
Free vitamins and other basic medicines were given to beneficiaries who availed of the consultation.
Mae Matabaran (right) had her two sons undergo checkups after claiming her relief stub.
A former medical school scholarship recipient from Tzu Chi and now a licensed physician, Dr. Andrea Bonife Ibañez (right) lends her expertise in medicine to help assess the health concerns of families affected by Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi).
Former scholar and licensed Physician Dr. Rizma Uckung-Luy (left, seated) provides free medical consultations to beneficiaries.
Dr. Rizma Uckung-Luy checks an infant during the relief distribution.
For Mae Matabaran, receiving relief and free medicine for her children was a great blessing.
Their volunteer efforts go beyond medical consultations; Edil-Joshua Ganas (in Tzu Chi vest) helps carry sacks of rice to distribute to beneficiaries.