Dodong Gullas to repair Daanbantayan Church

CEBU, Philippines -  So that the people of Daanbantayan can celebrate Christmas despite being homeless, philanthropist and The Freeman chairman  Dr. Jose “Dodong” Gullas has pledged to repair the San Miguel Parish in barangay Tapilon.

“We will repair this church so that the people here can celebrate Christmas despite the effects of Yolanda,” said Gullas, executive vice president of the University of the Visayas and founder of the JRG Halad Foundation, after inspecting the San Miguel Parish in Tapilon yesterday. Gullas said he promised Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma that he will help in the repair of destroyed churches in Cebu.

It is part of Filipino tradition to attend dawn masses or Misa de Gallo starting December 16 or nine days before Christmas. It is even common belief among Filipinos that completing the nine-day dawn masses can grant a parishioner’s wish.

Engr. Gamaliel Vicente, dean of the UV College of Engineering, said the church’s roof took a beating from super typhoon Yolanda that a good portion of it is missing. He said they will have to replace the missing sheets and do some repairs and everything will be back to normal.  Gullas, who is also a former congressman of the first district, promised the people of Tapilon that repairs on the San Miguel Parish Church will be completed before the start of the dawn masses.

Meanwhile, Gullas and his wife Nena also distributed 500 relief packs to Tapilon residents. The area is among those badly damaged by the super typhoon last November 8, being a coastal area. About 90 percent of the houses in the said barangay were destroyed, leaving thousands of families there homeless.

Mrs. Gullas also gave out gas lamps (lamparilla) she herself made out of used bottles. She said that since power has not been restored in Daanbantayan and in the other areas in northern Cebu that were affected by the typhoon, the gas lamps will temporarily provide light at night.

Mrs. Gullas, co-founder of the JRG Halad Foundation, also distributed 989 relief packs to the people of Barangay Tinubdan in Daanbantayan and in Barangay Kawit in Medellin.  She said the project was in coordination with the UV College of Nursing batch ’91, with the aid of her batchmates who are already in the USA. She added that they chose Daanbantayan for their relief operations because it was one of the badly-hit areas.

“Humana mi sa Medellin, diri napud kay grabe ang damage ni Yolanda diri. Daghan ang affected,” she said. — /QSB (FREEMAN)