Building a resilient infrastructure and providing inclusive financial opportunities to Siargaonoans is the dream of Kenneth Shaw, president and owner of the Siargao Town Center. He believes this can be achieved through a center of commerce that allows them to enjoy what “city dwellers’ are enjoying while at the same time affording reasonably priced basic necessities, in addition to enhancing the domestic economy.

“My vision is to prepare Siargao Island for its future by solving the high cost of living here, particularly the perennial construction costs and project delays,” said Shaw. “The STC should also offer the people on the island the opportunity to enjoy the brands and good things from the city while uplifting their lives.”

The STC’s contribution to Siargao Island took center stage in the aftermath of the 16 December 2021 Super Typhoon “Odette” (international codename: Rai), the second costliest typhoon in Philippine history behind typhoon “Haiyan” in 2013.

“Odette” was a Category 5 super typhoon, packing winds up to 280 km/h. Siargao was one of the heaviest hit by the storm, with nearly P20 billion in damages to properties and infrastructure.

“After assessing the devastations caused by ‘Odette,’ I thought money is useless if you don’t have food. Even if you have plenty of fuel or construction materials to rebuild, but you don’t have food, there will be chaos. We saw that happen in ‘Yolanda,’ and we don’t want a repeat of that in Siargao,” Shaw said.

The lessons learned from previous disasters have irreversibly changed Shaw’s reaction to help the affected residents of Siargao. He took a proactive approach and did not wait for government help to take a cue.

He acted on instinct.

With power lines destroyed by the strong “Odette” winds, the island was in the dark; ergo, the food stocks of Puregold Mall inside the STC were in danger of rotting.

Shaw went to Puregold’s store manager and offered to buy all its food stocks at its prevailing market price to be distributed as temporary relief for the thousands of Siargao residents affected by the typhoon.

Over the next three days, Shaw and his crew distributed hot meals and food packs to anybody who visited the STC for food assistance. By the way, Shaw also requested all his personnel to accept a minimum wage over the next few days while the island regrouped and found its direction again.

The request was voluntary. Not surprisingly, none declined the offer.

To support the quick recovery of Siargao, Shaw saw it paramount to stabilize the prices of basic necessities, particularly food and construction material, to jumpstart the island’s rehabilitation initiatives. Shaw knew and accepted that he had to face the struggles of finding the right solution for the island’s needs.

“In order for local businesses and the island to stand on their feet again, stability is paramount,” Shaw added.

Again mustering his excellent relationship with Puregold and Handyman, Shaw called the owners of the establishments to immediately reopen their stores to ensure an uninterrupted supply of food and construction materials.

Within 45 days, Puregold, the only structure left standing in Siargao with minimal damage that Mega Mykon designed and built and also served as the “center of hope” for the devastated Siargaonoans, resumed operations.

“Puregold and Handyman played their roles (in the fast recovery of Siargao), and Mercury Drug is coming in sometime in October. I heard House Speaker (Martin) Romualdez funded a hospital on the island, and it will be fully completed by the end of the year,” he said.

He went on to say: “It is going to be these guys that are the institution by itself, playing the role for the rehabilitation of Siargao. It is just like me and my team; we are just the ‘maestro,’ and everybody plays. There is a trumpet, and there is a tambourine, and music is going to come out.”