Displaced teachers still give aid

Education Secretary Armin Luistro was moved to tears by what the employees of his department had done for the victims of Tropical Storm “Sendong.”

Public school teachers living in the devastated areas still volunteered to prepare meals at the evacuation centers, even if they themselves had lost family members or their homes in the flood, Luistro told the Inquirer on Thursday.

“Almost all the teachers, even after their homes were flooded or they lost loved ones, are there helping each other,” said the official, who flew to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities earlier this week to see the Sendong’s Ground Zero up close.

“Without any prompting from us, the teachers were the ones cooking food for evacuees. They scrounged around and drew from their own pockets to help feed the evacuees even before help came from outside,” he said.

Another heartwarming and unexpected gesture greeted Luistro when he returned to Manila. Utility workers at the Department of Education (DepEd) central office in Pasig City decided to donate the sacks of rice the secretary earlier gave them supposedly for their Christmas party raffle.

“When I asked what happened, I was told that they donated them.  That made me cry.  I am rarely able to give them anything and yet they decided to give it up,” said an emotional Luistro.

“I think the poor know what it means to go through something like that.  And I cry whenever that happens, when you see that kind of generosity.  That’s unusual, something you wouldn’t expect,” he added.

Other government workers passed the hat around for the relief effort.

A relief drive launched by the Bureau of Customs head office in Manila has raised P680,000, with Commissioner Ruffy Biazon donating his salary for December (around P70,000) and an additional P100,000 from his personal savings.

“I might be criticized for revealing this, maybe for boasting about it. But I’m not boasting about it; it’s an act of leadership calling to our colleagues to pitch in. We will turn (the money) over to the Red Cross,” he said. With a report from Jerome Aning