On June 8, a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Mindanao in the Philippines, severely impacting Davao Occidental, Sarangani Province, and surrounding areas. Roads split open, buildings collapsed, and landslides isolated remote villages. In the face of widespread displacement, local communities and emergency responders began assessing the damage and organizing relief efforts to address the immediate needs of thousands of families left without shelter, food, or water.
Assessing damage in Glan and Jose Abad Santos
A combined team of volunteers from Manila and Davao quickly mobilized to conduct an initial assessment from June 16 to 18. Traveling through the hard-hit municipalities of Glan and Jose Abad Santos, the teams witnessed severe infrastructure damage. Many families were living in outdoor modular tents due to frequent aftershocks and threats of a tsunami.
In Glan, local government reports indicated that over 22,000 families were impacted. While national and private agencies began deploying aid and rehabilitation funds, immediate necessities remained critical. In the municipality of Jose Abad Santos, the entire area was declared under a state of calamity. Mayor Jason John A. Joyce highlighted the extensive challenges confronting the local government.
The entire Jose Abad Santos is in a state of calamity, so that’s 22,576 households affected. We have an estimated 6,000 damaged houses, and structures like a barangay covered court and barangay halls that are damaged. — Jason John A. Joyce, Mayor of Jose Abad Santos
Mayor Joyce enumerated tents, tarpaulins, blankets, and sleeping mats as immediate priorities for evacuees who preferred staying on open ground to escape the ongoing tremors.
LEFT: Volunteer Johnny Kwok (left) coordinates with Philippine Army and disaster council officials during an assessment in Jose Abad Santos. RIGHT: Volunteers unload essential relief supplies at the Barangay Butulan distribution grounds. | Photos: Tzu Chi Philippines
Survival stories amid the ruin
For the residents of Jose Abad Santos, the morning of the earthquake remains deeply etched in their memories. Reggie Laurence Danganin, a teacher at Kalbay National High School, was preparing to teach a math class when the ground shook. Fortunately, students and staff were outside for the morning flag ceremony. Local security forces prevented frightened children from running back inside the fracturing buildings, keeping everyone safe. However, the school lost critical resources, creating an urgent need for printers and paper to continue modular learning.
Others faced terrifying moments trying to reunite with family. Rodrigo Masurin Moda Sr., 74, had to walk eight kilometers back to his village through the devastation, deeply worried about his wife, Inriza. When he finally found her safe, they wept with joy that they had survived unharmed.
For 45-year-old Nesita Yato, the disaster brought complete devastation. She was struck by falling concrete while fleeing a building and returned home to find her house and her husband's fishing livelihood entirely gone. Now sleeping in a makeshift tent, Yato struggled to process the sudden loss, noting that what she used to watch on television had become her reality.
Community resilience and the arrival of aid
On June 27, relief teams successfully negotiated heavily fractured roads to deliver aid to 1,382 households across Glan and the remote barangays of Sugal and Butulan. While families in Glan received vouchers for construction materials to rebuild their homes, residents in Jose Abad Santos were provided with extensive emergency supplies, including rice, blankets, woven mats, insulated foam, folding beds, solar-powered LED lights, and hygiene kits.
LEFT: Tzu Chi scholars prepare distribution stubs at the registration area to assist local families. RIGHT: Residents express gratitude as they leave with their relief items.| Photos: Tzu Chi Philippines
Among those receiving aid in Butulan was Erenia Taruc Rufo, a 33-year-old barangay health worker whose home collapsed during the quake. Her three-year-old daughter was injured by a falling hollow block during the collapse.
They were giving my baby girl a bath when the wall caved in and a hollow block fell on her. She wasn’t wearing anything when it happened.
— Erenia Taruc Rufo, Barangay Health Worker
The little girl sustained numerous wounds and remains deeply traumatized by the constant aftershocks. With her husband, a mason, out of work and their belongings gone, medical treatment presents a significant hurdle. Despite her personal crisis, Rufo continues serving as a frontline health worker for her community.
Another resident, 55-year-old Dionisio Gorre, narrowly escaped two separate landslides on his motorcycle during the earthquake. After the shaking stopped, he used his motorcycle to transport injured neighbors to the nearest hospital. Though his own house was split in half and he must care for his 89-year-old mother and an adult child with a disability, Gorre has been sharing his limited rice and potable water supplies with other displaced families. "Food is hard to come by," Gorre explained, noting that local shops had run out of goods to buy.
The arrival of essential supplies brought practical relief to communities grappling with the aftermath of the disaster. Mayor Joyce expressed his deep appreciation for the support reaching the remote area, emphasizing that the care and concern shown to the residents provided immense comfort as they begin the long journey toward recovery.
