When Severe Tropical Storm Opong (international name: Bualoi) ripped through Masbate, south of Manila, it flattened homes, destroyed livelihoods, and severed communication lines across mountain and coastal villages.
Families were left stranded with no way to call for help. Yet before the roads were cleared and government teams could arrive, the local Catholic community had already mobilized.
Within 12 hours of the storm’s landfall, volunteers—many of them students and parishioners—were carrying house repair kits, food packs, and clean water to the hardest-hit families.
First responders
Among the first to step forward were 14 parish scholars, both in college and high school. Together with parish youth and members of the Parish Pastoral Council, they loaded trucks with supplies and joined convoys to storm-damaged villages.
Their presence showed the community’s conviction that disaster response is not only the work of seasoned rescuers but of everyone willing to help, said Fr. Tristan Briones, parish priest of Birhen San Kalooy Church in the Diocese of Masbate, who led the parish-based relief effort.
“I was deeply moved to see our parishioners on the same page with the charism of St. Vincent de Paul—to serve the poor with urgency and compassion,” the priest said.
Climbing to Santa Fe
One of the first destinations was Santa Fe, a small mountain community with around 200 families. The road was rough and partly blocked, yet volunteers managed to bring in heavy housing materials.
Forty families whose homes were completely destroyed received house repair kits containing galvanized iron sheets, flat sheets, and nails—basic tools to start rebuilding their lives.
“The families could hardly believe that help could climb up the mountains so soon after the storm,” Fr. Briones recalled. “What we brought them was not only materials or food—it was hope.”
Alongside the kits, food packs, and containers of drinking water were distributed to 68 families. For many, the supplies meant not only survival but also a reprieve from the fear of what the next day might bring.
Challenge of communication
In the early hours, coordination was hampered by downed communication lines. With networks cut, even basic online banking was impossible, leaving affected families without access to cash or digital transfers.
“A strong line of communication is essential in any response,” Fr. Briones said. “It strengthens coordination and becomes a lifeline of hope in times of chaos.”
He said the quick response was made possible by the Vincentian Missionaries Social Development Foundation Inc. (VMSDFI) and Vincent Helps of the Congregation of the Mission, which secured funds and logistics to deliver aid swiftly.
Fr. Geowen Porcincula, C.M., executive director of VMSDFI, said that a “quick and efficient response” is vital after a disaster strikes “to ease the suffering of the most vulnerable.”
He told LiCAS News that VMSDFI, in cooperation with the local parish in Masbate, had prepositioned relief items and secured funds days before the typhoon to ensure a swift response.
“This is not just about providing relief aid; it is an act of solidarity from those who were spared to those who are now suffering,” he said.
Porcincula admitted, however, that the Vincentian Foundation can only assist a limited number of parishes because of resource constraints.
He encouraged other dioceses and church institutions with the capacity to extend help to adopt a local parish in times of disaster and humanitarian crisis.
“If we can normalize this system of solidarity and mutual help, we can ease the suffering of the poor and restore the sense of hope that disasters often take away from them,” he added.
Aid beyond Santa Fe
The relief effort will not end in Santa Fe. By the end of the week, repair kits are expected to be transported to other hard-hit communities, including Bugtong, a coastal village where families have lost boats, nets, and homes.
Parish workers are also preparing to assist students stranded at boarding houses in Dr. Emilio B. Espinosa Sr. Memorial State College of Agriculture and Technology (DEBESMSCAT), ensuring they have food even as roads remain impassable.
Hope delivered
For families who had endured the storm’s violence, the immediate arrival of parish volunteers carried a meaning far greater than the supplies themselves.
“In those anxious hours, people worried about what would happen next. But because aid came quickly, we eased their fears. We gave them hope immediately,” Fr. Briones explained.
He stressed that the response was not only about delivering house repair kits or food packs—it was about restoring confidence to a community that had lost so much overnight. Hope became as vital as the relief items. It reassured people that they were not abandoned, that neighbors and church communities would walk with them through the long road of recovery.
In Masbate, Fr. Briones said, solidarity moved faster than the storm. “And in those first 12 hours, what the Catholic community delivered was not just relief—it was hope.”
