All-weather generosity

All-weather generosity | Daily Tribune

Last week, Metro Manila was drenched in rain and heartbreak. Floodwaters rose quickly, turning homes into pools and streets into rivers. In Las Piñas, like in many cities, families left their belongings behind and sought shelter, some for the second or third time this year.

Amid the chaos, I witnessed something quietly extraordinary.

Our city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) worked around the clock, soaked, sleepless, and sore, but unwavering. I saw them setting up tents, delivering food, helping mothers carry their children to safety, and coordinating operations before dawn.

One man stood out. His uniform was drenched, boots muddied, yet his face was calm. I later learned his own home was under two feet of water. When I asked why he still reported for duty, he replied: “Ma’am, my family is trained for this. They know the drill. But these people, we need to be here for them.”

That, to me, is the essence of all-weather generosity, showing up, even when your own world is underwater.

As Scripture reminds us: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” — Philippians 2:4

During my rounds of Zapote, Manuyo 2, Pamplona 1 and 2, Daniel Fajardo, Ilaya, Talon 2 and 3, I met mothers feeding infants in crowded classrooms, grandfathers guarding what little they had, and children laughing in ankle-deep puddles. One elderly woman told me with a soft laugh, “Sanay na po kami, taon-taon naman may baha.” I smiled, but inside I grieved. We shouldn’t have to get used to suffering.

Las Piñas lies along the coast of Manila Bay. Each typhoon and downpour tests our flood control system. Despite years of river dredging and drainage projects, the waters still rise. We need fresh thinking and generous collaboration.

Cities like Amsterdam, once flood-prone, are now global models of resilience. We, too can rise if our public institutions and private innovators work hand in hand with compassion and urgency.

That week gave us even more reason to strengthen the Alelee Aguilar Action Assistance.

Working closely with the DRRMO, Social Welfare Office, Health Office, and Nutrition Office helped us find ways to improve our own response system. Their speed and commitment became a model for us.

We took those lessons to heart, refining how the Alelee Aguilar Action Center can operate seamlessly during calamities. Their spirit inspired us to stretch farther, reach deeper, and give more. It also reaffirmed our mission to continue the Alelee Aguilar Action Center Podcast to inform and empower more families, not just when the sun is out, but especially when it rains — and most especially when it pours.

In moments of crisis, it’s not just sirens and sandbags that save lives. It’s the generous heart that keeps showing up. Rain or shine.