COMPASSION AT CALUMPIT

Anvil Business Club (Association of Young Filipino-Chinese Entrepreneurs ) in a relief mission for the victims of Typhoon "Lando" (International name: "Koppu") at Barangay Iba O'Este, Calumpit, Bulacan, one of the hardest hit settlements in the country. The howler brought torrential rains in Central and Northern Luzon, bursting Labangan River's banks, immediately transforming Calumpit's 25 out of 29 Barangays into a sea of watery morass.
Anvil's President Mr. Reginald Yu  lead an extraordinary group of young volunteers from the
Armed with more than 1,500 sets of disaster-relief packs, consisting of canned goods, bread, toiletries and hygiene kits – mostly donated by Anvil members, as well as those bought from previous fund-raising initiatives – more than a dozen member-volunteers trooped to the Barangay Iba O'Este Multi-purpose Compound to engage more than 2,000 indigent, typhoon-stricken victims and individually turn over the buckets of aid supplies to them.
Braving the 31-degree sweltering noonday sun, Anvil members had their hands full in assisting the Calumpiteños who braved the extraordinarily humid weather and the long queue – many of whom had patiently lined-up since six in the morning – just to partake of the Club's generous donation. The success of this endeavor is largely credited to the assistance of local municipal officials, led by its Mayor, the affectionate Dr. Jessie de Jesus and Vice-Mayor, the affable Dr. Zacharias Candelaria, who ensured a peaceful and systematic administration of relief goods were in order. The good mayor even donated an additional 300 sacks of relief goods in anticipation of a sudden surge of donees that day. All in all, every single resident who endured the long lines did not go home empty-handed; a majority of them even got two or more sets of relief items.
A brief program preceded the relief operations. After rendering a short prayer by fellow Anvil member (and beauty queen) Frances Cham, Calumpit Mayor de Jesus spoke to the growing assembly of residents and lauded the Anvil Business Club for selecting Calumpit as their beneficiary. Yours truly was later asked to give a short message, whereby I encouraged the typhoon victims to rise above this tragedy and assured them of our Club's continued support. In his appreciation, the good Mayor handed a small framed certificate to the Anvil Business Club, extending his thanks on behalf of the victims.
A small "salu-salo" fast-food packed lunch was later prepared by the Committee for fellow Anvil members and municipal hall volunteers. In his short message, Mayor de Jesus profusely thanked the Anvil Business Club, noting that the said relief operation was "absolutely heaven-sent," as the typhoon-weary residents had nothing to subsist for days due to the fact that the massive flooding destroyed their homes; some of them even had to stay along unused train tracks, without a roof over their heads and faced incessant mosquito bites.
Typhoon "Lando" recently barreled through the northeastern part of Luzon, dumping a catastrophic amount of prolonged, heavy rains, causing widespread flooding in many parts of the country. Powerful winds caused widespread damage and disruption across Luzon. As of this writing, more than 100,000 people are still in temporary shelters as Typhoon "Lando" destroyed more than Php6.57 billion (USD141.63 million) worth of crops, infrastructure and homes. It is, by far, the worst typhoon ever to hit the country this year, having brought the greatest 12- and 24-hour rainfall totals on record in the Philippines.
The Anvil Business Club still plans to conduct more relief operations to the hardest-hit areas all over Luzon in the coming weeks.
Kudos go to the Calumpit Relief Mission Committee, led by Anvil's valiant Director for Community Development Henry Kho, Committee Chairperson Erika Rellera, Co-Chairmen Brian Dee, Johnny Uy and Eckhart Ang. Special mention goes to the major member-donors: Mar Celo Co (Hobe bread); Desmond Chua (Daily Supermarket); Leoncio Lei Yee Jr. and Sheryl Yu (free shuttle services); Jayson Sze (transportation of goods); Jardin Wong (Golden Bay Seafood Restaurant); Tom Yeung (Katinko Ointment); Marvin Tiu Lim (Mega Sardines); Alexander Martos (bottled water); as well as good friend and U.P. Diliman college buddy, Ariel Concejero (Henkel's Syoss Shampoo and Conditioner).
A special shout-out goes to JCI Senator Larry G. Cruz – a very good friend, a pillar in JCI PHILIPPINES (charter JCI Marilaw President; past National Vice-President for Metro North Region; past National Secretary-General; and current TOYM Executive Director) and a genuine son of Bulacan – for lending his invaluable time at a moment's notice in assisting the Anvil volunteers in navigating the unfamiliar Calumpit terrain and for helping the group distribute the relief items.