MANILA, Philippines – Although the destruction caused by tropical storm “Ondoy” has turned hundreds of ordinary people into heroes, there are some who have chosen to “act like beasts.”

Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral criticized Wednesday some flood victims for what she described as their “less than human” behavior as she recounted a story told to her by Muntinlupa Mayor Aldrin San Pedro about one of the schools in his city which was being used as an evacuation center.

Classes resumed at the school on Monday although some 1,000 families remain on campus.

Cabral said San Pedro told her that they had to post guards at the school’s toilets after several students were robbed by some men while they were using the facilities.

The robbers then eluded arrest by mingling with evacuees.

“Gawain ba iyan ng matinong tao [Is that the act of a decent human being]? That’s less than human,” said Cabral who attended a forum organized by the Philippine College of Physicians.

“Someone should remind them [that] they’re not the only victims. They should not use this situation as an excuse to act like beasts,” she added.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer called up San Pedro who confirmed the robbery incidents. However, he declined to identify the school where these took place.

He said that before the school was turned into an evacuation area, its officials padlocked one of the buildings on campus as a precaution.

The principal later told San Pedro that when they conducted an inspection in preparation for the resumption of classes on Monday, they found out that someone had forcibly opened all the classrooms in the building.

They were even more dismayed when they discovered that the classrooms had been turned by evacuees into toilets.

In addition, someone had stolen eight of the building’s 10 ceiling fans.

Worse, robbers had forcibly opened teachers’ tables and stolen the money in their drawers.

“The principal was very upset. I told her that the city government would pay back the money that was stolen from the teachers,” San Pedro told the Inquirer.

Cabral, meanwhile, noted that some people have been taking advantage of the situation caused by Ondoy by jacking up the prices of essential commodities like bottled water.

“It is plain that there are certain conditions where government will not be able to do everything,” Cabral admitted.

She said that government relief efforts being spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) were not enough to reach as many affected families in the soonest possible time.