Whitespace: Operation Tulong Bayan

Since Sunday, September 27, the day after Typhoon "Ondoy" dumped over 400mm of rain on Metro Manila and the surrounding areas, Whitespace in Makati has been humming with activity. Nena Wuthrich donated 300 environmentally-friendly bags to pack relief goods in and the slogan on it says it all: MOTHER PACKER!

Over the last 3 days, Whitespace has been completing and deploying between 5000-10000 bags, maybe slightly more to various areas affected by tropical storm "Ondoy". Although it was only rated Signal #1 in Metro Manila, the amount of rain that it dumped on us was more than double the amount that was dumped by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. That, coupled with the release of waters from the Angat and La Mesa Dams, was just too much for the flatlands around it sending ravenous flash floods through Pasig, Marikina, Cainta, Rizal, as well as areas of Bulacan, Pampanga just north of Manila. South of Manila, Laguna Lake overflowed severely affecting areas along its banks in Laguna and Batangas.

As one woman said last night: "Laguna Lake merged with Manila Bay." In her estimation, if super typhoon "Parma" does dump more rain in the area this weekend, then the National Capital Region will just "blend" together. Hyperbolic, alarmist? Could be, but one thing that is on everyone's mind is that anymore rain right now will cause more floods. The land is just too soaked to absorb any more water, and the dams are just brimming at full capacity. Any more rain would lead to more water being released - more flooding. In the meantime, Manila is bracing and hoping for "Parma" to keep away from the metropolis. Some relief centers have stopped operations over the weekend anticipating "Parma's" arrival.

Rice, water and canned goods are the three essential items that go into the relief bags. Sturdy, non-tearing large white plastic bags are also in very high demand and crucial for this opertion. Without any one of these items, then relief goods can't be deployed for distribution. Whitespace would be very grateful to receive a steady supply of these items. It is probably difficult to source some of these items at this time due to the heavy demand. However, any little bit helps! There is a cheer in the room and rush to snatch one of these each time a box or a sack of anything comes through the doors. The water, rice, canned goods, clothes stations are all depleted of supplies as quickly as they come in. Soon, White Space will have to be renamed "Black Hole"!


Many thanks to the volunteers who have given their time to help out this past week. The generosity and support has been amazing, and their spirit has blanketed the space with a great atmosphere for all. It's been absolutely fantastic to see students of all ages, younger people, and families come out in droves to help sort and pack relief good, even if just for a few hours. So many have come in on a daily basis that although we can't all remember each other's names, their mere arrival gives an indication of what time of the day it is.

WHITESPACE, OPERATION TULONG BAYAN continues to accept donations on Friday and Saturday. Relief packing operations resumes at 10AM on Sunday, October 4. It will be open all week to accept donations and to help provide relief goods to our less fortunate neighbors.

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