UPLB students take part in typhoon relief missions

A RESIDENT of Los Baños, Laguna province, looks at what is left of his house after strong winds brought by Typhoon “Glenda” on July 16 destroyed it. CLIFFORD NUÑEZ/CONTRIBUTOR

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—Weeks before the school opening, students from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) have been busy sorting and packing donated clothes, goods and other materials intended for the victims of Typhoon “Glenda” (international name: Rammasun), which wreaked havoc on several communities in Southern Luzon.

Serve the People Brigade (STPB), the public service arm of UPLB’s student council established in 1972, was reactivated in response to typhoon-stricken communities.

As of Tuesday, volunteers were able to raise P7,000 cash and collected 2,700 pieces of used clothing as well as canned goods and toiletries after weeks of “school-, house- and bus-hopping,” said brigade coordinator Yvann Zuñiga.

The relief distribution will start this week.

“During the past years, we usually asked for clothes and food. But this time, we saw the need for construction materials too since most victims, especially in the (Laguna) lakeshore areas, lost their homes,” Zuñiga said.

An initial report from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said at least 12,425 houses were totally destroyed in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon provinces). In Laguna alone, 46,557 families were affected in terms of damage to property and livelihood.

Zuñiga said a private construction company from Calamba City, Laguna, pledged iron sheets and construction nails for the typhoon victims.

STPB was also asking UPLB to donate the lumber and wood materials from the trees toppled inside the campus and on Mount Makiling.

“A problem though is the construction materials are a bit pricey, so we are convincing more businesses to make a donation. We are also coordinating with local officials to help us transport the materials,” he said.

Enrique Tolentino Jr., UPLB vice chancellor for community affairs, however, said the university had not decided yet on how they would dispose the trunks and crown of the fallen trees. He said that although several trees were felled by the typhoon, not a significant value could be used for construction, but only as source of fuel.

The university was rushing to clear the campus of fallen trees and debris and to repair damaged school buildings before the school opens on Aug. 11.

Elsewhere in the region, state university students also launched relief missions through Tulong Kabataan of Kabataan party-list, its regional coordinator Ronalyn Franca said.

Relief stations were opened at the Alangilan and Malvar campuses of Batangas State University and at Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sto. Tomas, all in Batangas; at  Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation and at Southern Luzon State University in Quezon; and at Cavite State University in Indang, Cavite.