“Oplan Hatid,” a program organized by volunteers offering free rides to typhoon victims arriving at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City, may be scaling down its operations although it remains in need of more drivers.
“Dear Angels on Wheels: Starting [Wednesday night], our operations will close at 10 p.m. and resume at 8 a.m. the next day. There are [fewer] and sometimes no flights that come in at night and we know all of us can use a good [night’s] rest at this point,” read a post in the group’s Facebook page.
At the same time, however, it appealed for more driver volunteers and urged them to register on its website (https://oplanhatid.teleserv.ph/).
Oplan Hatid is part of “Oplan Salubong,” a private sector-government partnership that focuses on the processing of evacuees from typhoon-hit areas in the Visayas. The Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Capital Region, which is the lead agency, also has its own “Operation Tulong Express” which offers specific assistance to some victims.
Junep Ocampo, one of the people behind Oplan Hatid, said that based on data from the DSWD, the volunteer program has helped 2,780 families and 2,616 individuals as of Nov. 26.
Several volunteers were at the airbase yesterday to welcome two planes carrying evacuees from Tacloban and Guiuan although the flights had yet to arrive as of 4 p.m. Vehicles from local government units were on standby to assist the survivors should the planes arrive beyond 10 p.m.
On Tuesday night, the group ferried to their relatives in Metro Manila typhoon victims who arrived in Pasay City on board four flights.
On the group’s Facebook page, there were several posts about random and unexpected acts of kindness experienced not only by Yolanda survivors but even the volunteers themselves.
A man recounted how he gave money to a family of evacuees he drove to Proj. 6, Quezon City. On his way home, he was about to pay the toll when he realized that he had no money left.
The volunteer said he told the toll booth attendant about his predicament and offered to leave his driver’s license and come back the next day to pay the fee. However, the attendant told him, “It’s okay, sir. This one is on me.”
Another volunteer talked about buying several boxes of donuts at a store. When the cashier learned that the donuts would go to evacuees, he offered the use of his employee’s discount card.
A man who identified himself as Jake Swann said that although volunteer-drivers like him wait for hours before they are assigned evacuees, it was worth it.
“Many [victims] are surprised when they find out so many people are willing to help and are even amused that volunteers wittingly try to outbid each other for a particular group and area just to help. Some are simply happy that they have temporarily left the destruction and desolation but vow to go back and reclaim and rebuild because that is where their home [and] their livelihood are. Most, if not all, are just truly grateful to find out that many … really care,” he said on his Facebook account.
Swann added that he and other volunteers have one common observation about Yolanda victims: “If the survivors, on their part, were just in awe [of] and surprised by the tremendous outpouring of help, care, concern and sympathy … upon their arrival, we, the volunteers, in turn, were just simply stunned by their hopefulness and positivism. They are not sad at all. They do not look depressed. They are not down[hearted] and definitely not defeated.”
But while the spirit of volunteerism and bayanihan may be alive and well at the airbase, not everyone who is there has good intentions, according to Air Force spokesperson Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol.
He warned volunteers to be careful about their belongings after a Facebook post about a woman who lost her tablet at the airbase went viral, particularly after the alleged thief posted “selfies” on an Internet photo account which the owner had access to.
Okol said at least 25 people have been apprehended by air force police for theft.
Last Saturday, five “volunteers” were arrested after they stole some of the food and relief goods meant for evacuees.
The suspects, who hid the relief items worth P8,000 in a sack and two garbage bags, were arrested after their vehicle was intercepted at the airbase gate. Investigators later found out that the group were not authorized relief workers and charged them with theft in the city prosecutor’s office.