During the onslaught of Super Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon or habagat, which brought heavy rains and floods to various parts of Metro Manila, some local celebrities were seen extending help to those who were affected by the calamity on Wednesday.
Actor and Philippine army reservist Gerald Anderson, for one, was seen wading through floodwaters and rescuing a child who was trapped in their residence in Quezon City.
In a video uploaded on X, Gerald was heard saying to a crying child, “Sasama nanay mo, tara (Your mom will be with you. Come, let’s go.)” He then carried the child out of the house while assuring him, “Akong bahala sa’yo (I’ll take care of you.)”
It was not the first time that Gerald made an effort to help typhoon victims. He also came to the rescue of some affected families during Typhoon Ondoy in 2009.
On the other hand, singer-actor Ronnie Liang joined the 1302nd Ready Reserve Infantry Battalion’s rescue operations in Barangay Roxas, Quezon City. Also a Philippine Army reservist, Ronnie shared on his Instagram snippets of videos and photos of him, along with others, drenched in rain on a boat, while assisting typhoon victims along the flooded streets.
Actor and Philippine Air Force reservist David Chua, together with Damayan sa Distrito Dos members, likewise handed out relief goods to the residents of Tondo who were also hit by the typhoon.
Meanwhile, other celebs shared their own experiences during the height of the typhoon.
Veteran actor Michael de Mesa shared on his Instagram that his car was finally towed after more than 22 hours of being stranded on the road.
He came from a taping and had been stuck in the street due to impassable roads and waist-deep flooding. “My car has malfunctioned from the water. I had to drive through earlier. It’s nighttime now and I haven’t eaten. I guess we definitely shouldn’t have gone to work today,” he said.
“Stranded for 17 hours now coming from taping yesterday. Naiiyak na ako. The tow truck can’t get through, and my anxiety is kicking in. I just want to go home,” he said in another post.
“Unang Hirit” weather presenter Anjo Pertierra, who is from Marikina, also shared on the show his typhoon experience at his home. The 6’2” former athlete said that the flood waters reached chest level and that he wasn’t able to save any of his belongings.
“I really thanked my neighbors because they have presence of mind to enter into my house and knocked on my bedroom. If they didn’t knock, I would have been stuck in my room which is in the basement,” he recalled when he reported for the GMA morning program.
As of yesterday, Super Typhoon Carina left the Philippine Area of Responsibility and made landfall in Taiwan.