Category: Philippines

The Philippines is a typhoon-prone country. Around 19 tropical cyclones or storms enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (for tropical cyclone warnings) in a typical year, and of these usually 6 to 9 make landfall, which cause the country a loss of billions of pesos in damage to the economy and to physical structures. Worst of all is the loss of many lives.

For these reasons the Laguna Provincial Public Safety Company (LPPSC, the part of the Laguna Police Provincial Office that sees to internal security operations), conducts Search and Rescue (SAR) training. 6 of our Goducate volunteer workers attended the training held on Sept 3-5 and are now deemed qualified to answer the call of duty if necessary. One of these volunteers is Jelmar Lobusto, who, with Goducate’s help, passed the Alternative Learning System exam this year (see Aug 21, 2015 blog), which made him eligible for the SAR training.

The SAR training taught (1)Proper application of bandages on different parts of the body, (2) Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, (3) Quick response and communication, and (4) How to effectively  pass  information in the community.

The training also raised awareness about being prepared for the earthquake of magnitude 7.2 that is expected by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology to hit Manila and its surrounds (including Laguna) within our lifetimes (http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/316877/scitech/science/the-next-big-quake-in-metro-manila-may-hit-within-our-lifetime)

After that training session, the LPPSC’s Provincial Advisory Council ( PAC), on which sits a Goducate representative, decided to raise funds to purchase some of the most basic needs for an immediate response, such as life jackets and chainsaws. Thus the Council held a Dinner for a Cause, and Goducate helped to sell 150 tickets at PhP500 each for the event held on Nov 7, which raised PhP 75,000. A similar dinner may be held in Feb 2016.

On Nov 6, 2015, when the Masaya National High School celebrated their 2nd assembly, Card Giving and Oath-taking ceremony for the officers of their Parents and Teachers Association, Goducate musicians were invited to play for the event. The school had known of the Goducate music program since 2011, when some of their students then were part of the program. But the school had a pleasant surprise when they found out that 4 of the 6 musicians who turned up for the event were current students at the school. The other 2 were alumni of the school.

The four current students were Ericka Laus and Loween Ricafort, both grade 7 students at the school and Blessina Suncaya and Sonny Boy Espanola both grade 8 students, and all were violinists. The other two, Manuel Factor and Rea Cabalfin, are volunteer workers at Goducate Laguna, who were glad to be able to show their gratitude to their alma mater by playing for the event.

The principal and teachers were very pleased with their students’ musical performance and look forward to more performances by Goducate musicians. Goducate hopes that our musicians’ love for music and dedication to learning to play an instrument will be an inspiration to others.