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2021-12-31 Β |Β β±οΈ 15:47 Β |Β ποΈ 35.9K views Β |Β π 4K likes Β |Β π¬ 968 comments
Pea travels to the isolated coastal community of Tankulogan in Bais City to deliver typhoon relief to a fishing village that was hit hard by Typhoon Rai (Odette) but was being largely bypassed by aid distribution. She brings over half a ton of rice plus canned goods, water, and other supplies for 100 families, then walks into the devastated village on foot to document the conditions β ultimately discovering an elderly couple living in near-total destitution under a tarp, setting up the rebuilding mission she completes in a later video.
Getting to the village and organizing the distribution β
- The community of Tankulogan sits right against the sea, so it took a direct hit from the typhoon
- Residents rely on fishing as their livelihood, using small wooden boats
- The village homes aren't accessible by car, so Pea sets up a distribution point at the end of the road; villagers will carry supplies over a kilometer back across a footbridge
- A local coordinator (kuya) helps organize β names are called one by one from a list to keep things orderly
The striking difference in how this village receives aid β
- Out on the main roads, Pea had seen hungry citizens swarming vehicles in "a chaotic, frenzy" β but here, villagers wait calmly in an orderly line
- Instead of panic, Pea is greeted with thank-yous and Merry Christmases
- She has no explanation for the difference but is clearly moved by it
The scale of need vs. available aid β
- Pea brought over half a ton of rice plus canned goods, water, and other necessities for 100+ families
- The only aid the village had received from the government so far was 10 kilos of rice total β prompting Pea to wish she'd brought more
- With devastation so widespread, the government is overwhelmed, making private citizen relief efforts critical
- She was glad to have found a community where "hardly any aid was getting through"
Walking into the village: total devastation β
- Every piece of building material and supplies had to be hand-carried across a small footbridge
- Fish ponds stocked with milkfish for sale at local markets had been emptied by the storm's force β restocking will take months if money can even be raised
- Almost no structure was left undamaged; Pea says it felt like "standing in a pile of rubble"
- A small church had its roof torn off with only fragments of walls remaining
- Residents patched roof holes with anything available β if they were lucky enough to still have a roof
- No electricity, no water, no communications β and given the village's remoteness, restoration won't come anytime soon
Meeting Nanay Catalina and Tatay Cerelino β the elderly couple β
- An elderly woman Pea meets on the road invites her to tour her home, apologizing she has no food to offer except what Pea just gave her
- Nanay is in her 80s and has to walk a mile to the distribution point, then climb down a rock wall and slog through mud under a neighbor's house just to reach her "home"
- The "home" is essentially a tarp strung up in a tree β no walls, no door, no roof, no bed
- Three people live there: Nanay, her husband Tatay Cerelino (81 years old), and their grandchild
- Pea's reaction: "Shouldn't a home have a wall? A door? A roof? Maybe even a bed?"
- Their most urgent need is rebuilding their shelter β when it rains, they get completely soaked
- Tatay is still an active fisherman at 81, selling his catch to buy rice and canned goods β but the typhoon destroyed his fishing boat, leaving him with no way to earn income or feed his wife
- They're now entirely dependent on outside help for food
Lack of social safety net for elderly Filipinos β
- Pea notes there are no retirement plans or pensions for most senior citizens β "they're just still working"
- Aid from both government and private sector isn't reaching this area; the couple received only a kilo or two after the typhoon
- Pea is visibly upset: "What kind of life is this? She and her elderly husband are basically living under a tarp in a tree with no food... this just isn't right"
Pea promises to return β
- She tells Nanay Catalina she'll come back and try to do something about both the shelter and the fishing boat
- This sets up the follow-up video where she rebuilds their house and provides money for a new boat
Final distribution tally β
- 100 families received rice, water, and supply packs
- The barangay residents were well-behaved, cooperative, and queued up in orderly fashion
- Pea thanks viewers and the local coordinator who helped organize the distribution