Wheel Power

When news broke out last Wednesday that Oplan Hatid was being taken over by government, netizens went into fits of cyber rage. In just one day, my inbox filled up like a relief goods warehouse full of comments and messages that could never, ever, ever be fit for print.

Within hours of the announcement, every major network, broadsheet, website and radio station contacted us for an interview. The question on everyone’s lips was: “What the hell happened?” “Who is to blame?”

To be honest we’re not sure either. All we can tell you as a group was that when the relief operations were transferred from Villamor to Aguinaldo, we were ordered to pack up our things by noon and informed that Dir. Edgar Ollet of the Office of Civil Defense would be in charge the transport service for the survivors in Aguinaldo.

And that was that. Until about 8 hours later when we got a call from Col. Okol of Villamor asking us if we could set up again. And Oplan Hatid 2.0 was born.

Who would have ever thought just a week after launching the program, we would become national news and one of social media’s most talked about topics. Okay it may have been for the wrong reasons, but our Lord really does work in mysterious ways. Because not only did it force communication and better coordination between ourselves and the base, it gave us enough media mileage to gather even more volunteers––and we can proudly say that through their generosity, as of Monday, almost 15,000 people have found their way home through the hearts of strangers.

We could have dug a little deeper to find out who made the order and why, but every day we spent doing that, approximately 1,500 people would be left to find their own way through an intimidating, sprawling metropolis. Instead, we praised Col. Okol and his efforts to reach out, met with him early Thursday morning, and by 10am, the first evacuees were already being ferried to their friends or family.

Since then, the outpouring of generosity has by far outweighed any frustrations and sacrifices. Because the program was born from love, fueled by kindness and driven by the selflessness of the Filipino people, it has become a showcase of how you really do attract more with honey than vinegar.

It is true that a tragedy can bring out the best and worst in people, but if we swap politics with logistics and focus on the best, we inspire others to do the same. And in just 10 days of doing this program, I can honestly say that I have been blessed to have witnessed more beauty than some people will ever see in a lifetime.

Here are just some of the highlights that I compiled for an upcoming book that we, the organizers, plan to put together once this is wrapped up. We plan to call it Wheel Power.

Jaworski Garcia, an accountant, was one of the first to turn up to Villamor when he saw one of my posts. Despite having a brand new SUV that most people would still be babying, he took on 13 separate trips in the first day and logged down 736 kms of good karma. He has been back every day since; and while we have completely lost track of his mileage, he fills his downtime in between ‘hatids’ by being our announcer, auctioneer and dispatcher. We call him Captain Hatid. The Transporter has nothing on this guy.

When Oplan Hatid 2.0 was launched, I made another SOS for drivers, tents, whiteboards, water coolers, food, you name it. Cecile Baltasar was one of the first to show up with a whiteboard. After loaning it to us, she decided to offer her services as a driver. After her very first run, she sent me this message.

“I’d been looking for my friend who I lost contact with after Yolanda hit. She was in Tacloban. Days later, I found out from mutual friends that our friend’s parents didn’t make it. But there was still no word from our friend. Then I volunteered for oplan hatid. It was midnight when I drove out of Villamor in a convoy of 3 vehicles. We were taking a big family to the outskirts of Fairview. I was transporting most of the family’s things plus all the food they got from Villamor. My only passenger was the mother of a 4-year old. We talked mostly about her family’s experiences in the typhoon. Then talk turned to me, and I told her about my missing friend. I was so in shock when my passenger told me she knew my friend! They met when my friend helped my passenger’s family get water and food from the relief. It’s a long story, but later on, my friend daw was in line at the airport to leave, and was supposed to get on the flight but gave up her place for my passenger and her kid so her entire family could be together. I showed her a pic of my friend and my passenger confirmed it was the same girl. I had to slow down my driving because we were both crying. A day later, my friend contacted me saying she was ok, now in Bacolod.”

Just last Sunday, I bumped into a family of three who were walking out of the base. Seemed strange because I noticed them as volunteer drivers, which meant they had a car. Turns out, they put their hand up to take a family of 14 to Bulacan, but because their van could only take 15, one of them drove the evacuees to where they needed to go while the rest of them just commuted all the way back to Fairview

That is one of over 15,000 different stories so far that have unfolded from your generosity. We need more volunteers. We need more stories. Register today at oplanhatid.teleserv.ph.