Zamboanga siege evacuee raises funds for typhoon victims

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - An evacuee of the recent Zamboanga siege came to the aid of evacuees of the typhoon Yolanda in Visayas. 

For a jobless man and a former evacuee, Titus Bantilan said the situation of the survivors and evacuees in Leyte and parts of central Philippines sounded an alarm that the people there need more help than his predicament in the recent siege here.

Bantilan on Wednesday volunteered and personally roamed in his siege-affected village collecting coins to raise funds for the Yolanda victims. 

Bantilan, 47 years old, resident of Sunrise Drive, Logoy Grande, Barangay Talon-Talon, went around to his neighborhood, jeepney and pedicab drivers collecting coins as part of his fund raising.

He already collected more than a thousand pesos which he turned over to the Philippine Red Cross who in turn will forward all his collections to assist the typhoon victims. 

“Naisip ko lang para makatulong, ito ang ginawa ko para makatulong doon sa mga dinaanan ng bagyo,” Bantilan said.

“Mahirap ako at wala akong mai-ambag na malaki (pera), pero sa tulong siguro ng bawat isa ay makakatulong din tayo kahit sa anong paraan,” he added.

Bantilan said he started as a volunteer during his days at the evacuation camp, helping his fellow evacuees who were displaced at the height of the siege last September by the Misuari-led Moro National Liberation Front rebels.

He said he received no salary as volunteer but he found satisfaction in helping people affected by the calamities.

“Wala akong suweldo noong una akong tumulong, ngayong tutulong din ako,” according to Bantilan who now works as volunteer of their area.