LATEST NEWS
SNAPSHOT OF DISASTER
Did Haggai Institute alumni make a difference after
Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines?
Bishop Efraim Tendero
(shown above, in the red shirt)
provided local coordination and
encouragement to the volunteers
aboard a Norwegian chartered
ship, bringing relief goods from
different groups in Metro
Manila.
Meldean Pace Llanes wrote,
“I’m directing a project called
Hope Tent and will be going
to Tacloban, Ormoc, and
Samar to set up tents that
will accommodate 100-300
in December. It will also
be the center for Christian
relief distribution, providing
assistance to any organization
wanting to reach out to the
surrounding areas.”
Amy Castigador, an alumni
association president, working
with other alumni from Central
Philippine University, praised
God for enabling them to
get through storm-damaged
areas to bring relief goods to
northern Iloilo and neighboring
provinces.
6
Jerry Yaokasin is vice-mayor of
Tacloban, one of the hardesthit locations. Interviewed by
an international newspaper, he
said, “The people were warned.
But they were laughing because
the day before the typhoon it
was so sunny. They thought
we were crazy telling them to
evacuate. The first local law
that we passed under my watch
was the forced evacuation
ordinance. That was early in
August. Thanks to that, we were
able to evacuate some people to
the evacuation centers.”
to the small islands since they
are the very last to be reached
by the government aid. When
we arrived in a big pump boat,
the people were starving. Their
crops, trees, fishing boats, and
houses were all destroyed by the
typhoon. As one of the leaders
of our Crises Action Response
Team, I was privileged to visit
the victims, hear their ordeals,
and share with them God’s love
in the midst of this calamity.”
Dr. Gloria Enriquez Fabrigas is
a medical specialist assigned
in the Department of Health at
Tacloban City. She wrote, “My
Haggai Institute experience
taught me a lot of things about
reaching the lost in my own
sphere of influence. On 6
November, I started my 24/7
tour of duty at the Operation
Center as we evacuated families
to ‘resilient’