THOMASIANS stranded during the Aug. 17 campus flooding recalled how students, employees and University officials stepped in to provide food, shelter and assistance as floodwaters forced thousands to remain inside UST for hours.
The emergency put the University’s disaster preparedness to the test while drawing acts of bayanihan, or communal cooperation, from members of the Thomasian community.
Assoc. Prof. Juliano Parena, director of Campus Safety and Security, said thousands of Thomasians were stranded on campus at the height of the flooding.
“The headcount was more or less 5,000,” he told the Varsitarian.
As Thomasians sought refuge in University buildings, student volunteers, employees and officials organized evacuation areas, distributed food and supplies, and assisted those unable to leave the campus.
The 3Cs in action
Christopher Erasquin, a junior at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and president of the Medical Missions Incorporated Student Group, set aside his own unease and worked with other student leaders and staff at the Tan Yan Kee Student Center.
“Kaysa magreklamo ako na hindi pa suspended, as a student leader, [I thought], what can I do now, knowing the situation and applying what I’ve learned from med school,” Erasquin told the Varsitarian.
(Instead of complaining that classes had not yet been suspended, as a student leader, I thought, what can I do now, knowing the situation and applying what I’ve learned from med school?)
Erasquin was later joined by Senior Teacher Caesar Yoma, assistant director of the UST Purchasing Office, who oversaw operations at the student center.
By noon, the building had become a makeshift evacuation center, an emergency response base of the Red Cross Youth Council (RCYC) and a food distribution hub.
When volunteers encountered difficulties distributing food, they improvised by using excess meals from the “ROARientation” for freshies as an initial food supply before additional provisions could be sent out.
Among the Thomasians stranded at the student center was psychology junior Ayenna Rogayan, who stayed there for nine hours.
Despite experiencing a spike in body temperature and a drop in blood pressure, Rogayan said she thought about helping students who had become distressed by the situation.
“I saw students na sobrang overwhelmed na, some of them were crying, and nasa isip ko na lang sana [ay] maka-help din ako kasi psychology student ako. And I feel like I could’ve helped them, but at that time, I was trying to help myself not feel overwhelmed,” Rogayan said.
(I saw students who were very overwhelmed. Some of them were crying, and all I could think about was that I wished I could help because I am a psychology student. I feel like I could’ve helped them, but at that time, I was trying to help myself not feel overwhelmed.)
Despite the difficult conditions, Rogayan recalled seeing students willing to assist those stranded elsewhere on campus.
As the student center became a food distribution hub, volunteers waded through floodwaters to bring supplies to other buildings.
Among them were blockmates of medical technology junior Alessandra Inguillo.
“My blockmates mainly [brought] food from Tan Yan Kee to the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building (BGPOP), and then since we were stuck in Fr. Lorenzo Rodriguez Laboratory, they were the ones who were transporting food to us and then to another place,” Inguillo said.
The Santísimo Rosario Parish Church also served as a shelter, including for College of Tourism and Hospitality Management (CTHM) freshman Junold Antoy, who spent hours inside the church after the heavy downpour.
Antoy said the experience left a strong impression on him as a freshman because it showed the solidarity of his newfound Thomasian community.
“Sobrang nakita doon ‘yong ‘family’ that we’re calling sa CTHM na nagtutulungan. Even though everyone was stranded inside the parish church, nakita ko pa rin ‘yong bayanihan sa mga student leaders,” he said.
(I really saw there the “family” that we talk about in CTHM, where everyone helps one another. Even though everyone was stranded inside the parish church, I still saw bayanihan among the student leaders.)
READ: UST Central Seminary, parish serve as refuge amid flooding
Political science senior and RCYC Arts and Letters Unit President Ellyza Crisostomo was among the students who spent the night in UST to assist those who remained stranded.
Crisostomo said the volunteers were themselves afraid and exhausted. She and her fellow volunteers went home at 8 a.m. the next day, Aug. 18.
“We were just students who stepped up,” Crisostomo said. “Pero promise, takot din kami. Kasi at that time, we were just joking to each other, lalo na noong humupa na [‘yong baha]. Kasi ramdam na namin ‘yong pagod.”
(But I promise, we were afraid, too. At that time, we were just joking with one another, especially when the flood had already subsided, because we were already feeling the exhaustion.)
READ: Stranded for hours: Thomasians recount Aug. 17 monsoon flooding | The Varsitarian
UST officials, staff leave no one behind
University employees and emergency personnel likewise worked throughout the flooding to assist stranded Thomasians.
Jeramil Gabaon, a member of the eight-man UST Quick Response Team (QRT), said he expected to work beyond his regular shift as the team evacuated students and delivered food and supplies.
“My original duty was supposed to be until 6 p.m. only, but as a QRT member, when we started operations at around 11 a.m., I knew that we would need to get the job done before we could go home,” Gabaon told the Varsitarian.
“There was no backup, it was just us as QRT. Kaya po hindi ko maisip na iwan ang mga kasama ko,” he said.
(There was no backup. It was just us as QRT. That was why I could not think of leaving my colleagues behind.)
Despite the suspension of senior high school (SHS) classes announced the night before, UST SHS Principal Erika Bolaños, along with faculty and staff, prepared meals for Thomasians stranded at the Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati Building.
“As school administrators and educators, our responsibility does not end when classes end or when office hours are over. If there are students who need assistance, then we stay,” Bolaños said.
By late afternoon, SHS faculty members had fed more than 200 students from different colleges, preparing chicken nuggets, corned beef, luncheon meat and other food.
“What was particularly meaningful to me was that many of the students we assisted were not even from Senior High School,” Bolaños said. “But during a crisis, we do not distinguish whether a student belongs to SHS, to a particular college, or to another unit. They are Thomasians, and at that moment, they needed help.”
Call for better mitigation measures
Despite the volunteer response, Parena said the flooding also showed areas where the University could strengthen its disaster preparedness.
He proposed requiring every Thomasian to carry a go bag, implementing an incident command system, and training more University employees to respond to emergencies such as floods.
“It would also be of great help if there were willing support staff and faculty members who would undergo training to be able to provide much-needed help during these incidents,” Parena said.
“I believe that if there were more trained responders, we would be able to secure our stakeholders, move logistics, and help the injured in a faster and safer manner,” he added.
RELATED: UST moves to revise crisis protocols after flooding | The Varsitarian
For the Thomasians who endured the Aug. 17 flooding, the emergency became not only a test of the University’s disaster response but also an occasion when students, employees, and officials relied on one another to get through the hours-long ordeal. Elihoenai Hazael B. Cortez, Alejandro Mari C. Eusebio, Phoebe Elaine B. Pua, and Justin Jacob S. Urag, with reports from Frenchshield Shayne G. Delovieres, Kathryn Grace S. Enriquez, Jed William V. Gocatek, Marielle F. Pesa, Louisse Raye Shara C. Santos, and Amador Denzel M. Teston
