Dangerous waters. Flooding in E. Abada St. near the Ateneo was waist-deep earlier this morning. Photo courtesy of Dominic L. Go.

WHILE THE southwest monsoon was battering the National Capital Region and nearby provinces with torrential rain earlier this morning, August 7, the Ateneo Disaster Response and Management (Dream) Team drafted action plans in response to the situation and is now calling for donations and volunteers to address the needs of affected areas. The meeting was held at the Aerie function room of the Cervini Hall Cafeteria.

Currently, the Dream Team is accepting donations of food, especially canned goods and other food that can be easily prepared, bottled water, blankets, clothes and medicine.

The donations may be brought to the lobby of Cervini Hall at the Ateneo de Manila University in Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Rains have been swamping Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces for most of the day. At 3:38 PM this afternoon, Mahar Lagmay, executive director of the National Operational Assessment of Hazards at the Department of Science and Technology, announced through his official Twitter account (@nababaha) that “accumulated rainfall today (472mm in 22 hours) has now surpassed Ondoy’s rainfall (455mm in 24 hours).” Ondoy is the tropical storm that caused widespread flooding and damage in Metro Manila last September 26, 2009.

The Ateneo has announced the suspension of classes in the grade school, high school and Loyola Schools for tomorrow, August 8, on its official Facebook page this afternoon. Offices will also remain closed.

Committees formed

Vice President for Social Development Jimmy Hofileña led the discussion during the Dream Team meeting and came up with four major committees to work on immediate relief operations: communication, food, mobilization and transportation.

Remy Rivera from the Social Involvement Office of the Ateneo Grade School was assigned as head of the food committee, which will look for canteens that can cook ready-to-eat hot meals for displaced people.

The Facilities Management Office and security personnel volunteered to lead the transportation committee. They will be in charge of deploying vehicles to bring goods to affected areas.

Meanwhile, Ann Manapat, director of the Office for Social Concern and Involvement (OSCI), will lead the mobilization committee. The committee will organize OSCI formators who, together with student representatives, will head the collection of donations.

Norman Marquez, director of the Health Sciences Program, took charge of communications. He said that he will handle setting up a communication center, organizing data and coordinating with other offices concerned in disaster relief.

Student representatives present during the meeting include Sanggunian President Gio Alejo, Council of Organizations of the Ateneo President Gigi de Villa, Ateneo Resident Students Association President Kat Tuason and Reserved Officers’ Training Corps Commander Gabriel Torres.

Target Areas

The team focused on the following nearby areas in Quezon City:

– Brgy. Tatalon,
– Sitio Pajo in Brgy. Baesa,
– Banal na Sakramento Parish in Novaliches,
– Area 5 in Brgy. Bagong Silangan and
– Brgy. Bagong Silang in Caloocan.

Areas the Ateneo works with for the National Service Training Program are also being monitored.

However, affected areas in other provinces lacking support from their local governments are being assessed for possible relief operations. These areas include certain Ateneo praxis areas in Masanlot (Pampanga), Sta. Rosa (Laguna), Binangonan (Rizal) and Masinloc and Maporac (both in Zambales).

Immediate relief mission

“A certain area needs certain goods,” Holifeña said, as the team discussed the distribution of donations and pertinent issues they already faced in the past concerning relief operations.

Holifeña noted that they should regularly check the status of the areas they are sending relief efforts to, as other organizations may be helping such areas already. The Dream Team wants to prevent any wastage of the goods.

As of press time, the focus of the Dream Team is on providing immediate needs, such as food and water, to people in evacuation centers.