July 29, 2025
Volunteers brave rains to deliver aid to Typhoon Crising victims
By Joy Rojas
The successive arrivals of typhoons Crising (International name: Wipha), Dante (Francisco), and Emong (Co-may), combined with torrential monsoon rains in the past week left many parts of the Philippines’ national capital region (NCR) and nearby provinces submerged in floodwater, some as high as six feet.
An estimated 4.5 million Filipinos from over 1.3 million families were affected by this latest weather disturbance, said the Office of Civil Defense. Massive flooding forced 174,000 individuals from about 50,000 families to take cover in almost 1,000 evacuation centers nationwide.
Responding to the needs of those impacted by the relentless rains and floods, Tzu Chi Philippines volunteers organized visits to evacuation centers in some of the hardest-hit areas of the metro.
Visits were also conducted in the homes of 24 scholars from Tzu Chi’s Educational Assistance and Technical-Vocational programs, and beneficiaries from Tzu Chi’s medical assistance program, as well as seven local volunteers’ homes, which showed damage from continuous rains. All received basic provisions: one 10-kg sack of rice and assorted cooking, cleaning, and personal care essentials. A select few were given construction materials and cash assistance.
On July 21, volunteers distributed packs of freshly baked bread from the Tzu Chi Bakery to families seeking temporary shelter at the covered court of the University of Santo Tomas-Angelicum College in Sto. Domingo, Quezon City. On July 23, 88 packs of bread were distributed to 35 families at the Sulyap ng Pag-asa, a resettlement area and Catholic NGO in Payatas, Quezon City.
Volunteers also went to Maly Elementary School in San Mateo, Rizal, where 234 individuals sought evacuation. They then proceeded to St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, to check on five families staying there after a landslide destroyed their homes. While in Rizal, they also checked on the welfare of storm victims staying in Doña Pepeng Elementary School and the Ynares Multi-purpose Hall. And they visited families residing temporarily at the Nangka Elementary School in Marikina, one of the flood-prone cities of the NCR.
In all their visits, volunteers were pleased to see the organized setup of modular tents and systematic distribution of relief goods by local government leaders. They were also happy to note that many evacuees had already gone back to work or to their homes to begin the process of clearing their spaces of mud and debris.
Relief for scholars, medical assistance beneficiaries, and local volunteers began on July 25 with provision drop-offs at designated locations and home visitations in 9th Avenue and Samson Road, both in Caloocan; Valenzuela City; and Barangay Manresa, Quezon City.
A resident of Sitio Cabatuhan, General T. De Leon, Valenzuela City, Tzu Chi scholar Rhenz Malijan received rice and groceries, bread, and two galvanized iron (GI) sheets. He told volunteers how overflowing waters of the Tullahan River filled his home with chest-high flood. The flooding worsened when Marikina River’s waters continued to rise, at one point, reaching the highest alert level of 18 meters.
On July 26, volunteers formed three groups to distribute provisions and other assistance to Malanday, Marikina; Fortune, Tumana, and Nangka, also in Marikina; and San Mateo, Rizal.
Nariza Gelarzo, one of many volunteers from Marikina, claimed basic provisions and P5,000 cash assistance from Tzu Chi volunteers who dropped by her home. Another Marikina resident, Tzu Chi scholar Maureen Linsangan was humbled by the sight of Tzu Chi volunteers and staff hand-carrying basic provisions plus four GI sheets, 1 kg nails, and wood boards to help in the repair of her home. The men and women in blue and white were certainly a welcome sight to Tech-Voc scholar Irene Labra, also from Marikina, who gladly accepted Tzu Chi’s basic provisions and construction materials (one GI sheet, one Vulca-seal, 1 kg nails, and one PVC pipe).
An additional eight Tech-Voc scholars claimed basic provisions at the Buddhist Tzu Chi Campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila, on July 29.
“Do good things whenever the opportunity arises,” said Dharma Master Cheng Yen. Such simple words have a lasting effect: Amid unforgiving storms and the loss of livelihood and possessions, a kind gesture—from the distribution of bread, rice, groceries, and construction materials, to a visit from strangers to check on your welfare—reminds us of the impermanence of struggles, and the goodness and generosity that prevail in this world.
Tzu Chi volunteers Wilson Hung (left) and Luis Diamante bring bread from the Tzu Chi Bakery to families temporarily residing at the covered court of the University of Santo Tomas-Angelicum College in Sto. Domingo, Quezon City.
A woman helps herself to bread offered by volunteer Johnny Kwok.
Volunteer Luis Diamante distributes breadsticks to children in a modular tent.
Posing with local leaders at the covered court of University of Santo Tomas-Angelicum College in Sto. Domingo, Quezon City, Tzu Chi volunteers noted that evacuees were looked after by their local government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
At Sulyap ng Pag-asa, a resettlement area and Catholic NGO in Payatas, Quezon City, volunteers led by Benson Lao conducted a welfare check on evacuees following torrential monsoon rains and floods.
Evacuees at Maly Elementary School in San Mateo, Rizal, eagerly accept bread from Tzu Chi volunteers.
Five families whose homes were damaged by a landslide sought shelter at the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel in San Mateo, Rizal. Tzu Chi volunteer Elvira Chua listens to their stories.
Homes made of light material stand precariously on a hill following a landslide from nonstop rains in Maly, San Mateo, Rizal.
In Caloocan, Tzu Chi scholar Jude Gabriel Espanol (second from right) and family received a 10kg sack of rice, groceries, and 10 GI sheets.
In Valenzuela, Tzu Chi scholar Rhenz Malijan (second from left) and family received a 10k sack of rice, groceries, and two GI sheets.
Even in a downpour, relief distribution continues. Marco Caumeran (third from left), a Tech-Voc (caregiving) scholar, received basic provisions and construction materials from volunteers.
Nariza Gelarzo (third from right) welcomed Tzu Chi volunteers into her home. In addition to basic provisions, the Marikina volunteer accepted P5,000 cash assistance.
Tzu Chi scholar Maureen Linsangan claims bread from a volunteer. She also received basic provisions, four GI sheets, and other construction materials.
At the home of Tzu Chi scholar Ramil Cantano (second from left), volunteers delivered basic provisions, bread, and five GI sheets.
Tzu Chi scholar Haileyrain Rodrigues (third from right) accepted basic provisions and two packs of bread from volunteers.
Tzu Chi volunteers presented scholar Karl Andrew Bonabon (second from left) with basic provisions and construction materials.
Kendrick Marcus Tan, a Tzu Chi scholar, also received basic relief provisions from Tzu Chi volunteers.
When flood waters subsided in Marikina, volunteers visited Tumana resident Wenefrida Abalon (seated, center). The local volunteer received basic provisions and P5,000 cash assistance.
Under pouring rain, a Tzu Chi staffer carries a PVC pipe to the home of Tech-Voc scholar Irene Labra.
At one point in the home of Trixie Della Marinas (third from left), flood waters were waist-deep. The Grade 12 Tzu Chi scholar and her family were grateful for the provisions and visit from Tzu Chi volunteers.
Scholar Axcel Rivera (center) claimed his basic provisions from Tzu Chi volunteers outside San Mateo Elementary School.
Eight more Tech-Voc scholars received their basic provisions from volunteers at the Buddhist Tzu Chi Campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila, on July 29. Joining them in the turnover were (first from left) Dolly Alegado Cruz, head of Tzu Chi’s Tech-Voc Scholarship Program; (sixth and seventh from left) volunteers Loreto Balete and James Cheng; and (first from right) Tech-Voc Department Administrator Beth Auste.
After a day of distributing provisions and other forms of assistance, Tzu Chi volunteers’ white sneakers are splattered with mud.