June 20, 2026
Manila and Davao volunteers conduct 3-day ocular after 7.8 quake
By Joy Rojas
In preparation for a large-scale relief planned for thousands of Mindanaoans displaced by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that demolished parts of Davao Occidental on June 8, a team of Tzu Chi Foundation volunteers flew from Manila to Davao on June 16 to conduct a two-day ocular visit. Together with volunteers from Davao, they divided themselves into two groups; one assigned to visit Glan, the other Jose Abad Santos.
Early the next day, the teams drove to their respective municipalities. Along the way, signs of a massive disaster were apparent: Roads were uneven, jagged and split by the shifting fault line. Yellow caution tape and sheets of blue tarpaulin walled off buildings on the verge of collapse. Modular tents set up outdoors served as temporary shelter for those who either lost their homes or are too afraid to return to them, given the frequency of strong aftershocks and threats of a tsunami.
With assistance from Glan’s Action Center, Tzu Chi volunteers were able to complete ocular visits and assessments of barangays Gumasa, Cablalan, Batilon, Burias, Pangyan, Glan Padidu, Poblacion, Tango, and Patatan, as well as a number of schools, many of them damaged from the recent or previous quakes. A courtesy call with Glan Mayor Victor James Yap Sr. provided more information regarding the extent of the earthquake’s wrath.
As per a June 11 report from the Disaster Response Operation Management, Information, and Communication of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DROMIC-DSWD), 22,572 families (or 109,475 individuals) from Glan were impacted by the quake.
Since then, various forms of support have poured in for the first-class coastal municipality. Through Sarangani Representative Steve Chiongbian Solon and Governor Rogelio “Ruel” Pacquiao, Glan has received cash assistance, relief goods, and healthcare services from national and private agencies. In his visit on June 15, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. turned over P20 million for Glan’s rehabilitation, an amount Mayor Yap Sr. earmarked for construction materials to rebuild damaged homes.
A light rain fell when Team Jose Abad Santos arrived at its destination. At a makeshift municipal hall, Mayor Jason John A. Joyce updated Tzu Chi on JAS’s current status. Following the quake, it is one of the five most affected areas in Region XI and Region XII.
“The entire Jose Abad Santos is in a state of calamity, so that’s 22,576 households affected,” said Mayor Joyce. “We have an estimated 6,000 damaged houses, and structures like a barangay covered court and barangay halls that are damaged.” A preemptive evacuation was conducted for residents of lowland barangays who will bear the brunt of flooding from an artificial dam should an earthquake trigger a landslide.
Of their immediate needs, Mayor Joyce enumerated tents, tarpaulin, blankets, and sleeping mats for evacuees who would rather stay in open grounds while aftershocks continue. Food and drink are much appreciated as well. When volunteers dropped by with bread for barangays Tabuyon, Sugal, and Butulan, residents who hadn’t eaten for a day gladly took them in.
Indeed, the volunteers’ presence in one of the worst calamities to hit Mindanao is a comfort to those who have yet to figure out how to get back on their feet, and a reassurance that they are not alone in facing the uncertainties that lie ahead.
“Our gratitude [to you] is immense for visiting the farthest end of the Philippines to see our reality here,” said Mayor Joyce. “I am very excited to collaborate with your organization so the help for our community can be fast-track in any small way that your organization can give. We are thankful for the material help in the future, but more than that, we are grateful that you showed love and concern to the people.”
On June 16, Tzu Chi volunteers say a prayer outside the Jing Si Abode of Buddhist Tzu Chi Campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila, before flying to Davao for an ocular visit.
Upon their arrival at Francisco Bangoy International Airport, Tzu Chi Manila volunteers are met by their Davao counterparts.
Once they settled in, Tzu Chi Manila and Davao volunteers hit the ground running, making plans to conduct an ocular inspection of quake-hit municipalities in two groups.
In Glan, even single-story structures were not spared by the powerful magnitude 7.8 quake.
In Glan, even single-story structures were not spared by the powerful magnitude 7.8 quake.
Abandoned since 2023, Glan’s Municipal Plaza is close to totally collapsing.
At an open-air Tent City for quake survivors in Glan, a playground allows children to forget, even for a while, about their traumatic experience with the earthquake.
At Glan’s command center, volunteers get updates from Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Fire Superintendent Lowyn G. Amoyar (third from left). Together with his team, the acting chief of BFP Region XII Special Rescue Force was sent to Glan to assist with search, rescue, and recovery efforts.
Volunteers pose with locals outside Hadji Musa Integrated School in Glan.
The powerful quake exposed the steel reinforcements and hollow blocks of a concrete wall.
Volunteers walk past a pile of debris where a house once stood.
Volunteers walk past a pile of debris where a house once stood.
Tzu Chi Davao OIC Nelson Chua (second from right) chats with quake survivors from Glan.
A little girl receives bread from Tzu Chi volunteer Peter Uy.
Children gather for a photo with Tzu Chi Davao OIC Nelson Chua.
In a makeshift headquarters, Tzu Chi volunteers pay a courtesy call to Jose Abad Santos Mayor Jason John A. Joyce (in red).
Tzu Chi Philippines Deputy CEO Woon Ng presents Jose Abad Santos Mayor Jason John A. Joyce with books on Tzu Chi Philippines’s history in the last 25 and 30 years.
Jose Abad Santos’s local leaders hang a sign with updated figures on the state of the municipality after June 8’s magnitude 7.8 quake.
Tzu Chi volunteer Johnny Kwok coordinates with representatives from the Philippine Army and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council during an ocular visit in Jose Abad Santos.
A resident accepts bread and water offered by Tzu Chi volunteers.
A deep well water pump in the foreground is all that remains of a house that crumbled from the violent shaking of the June 8 quake.
An aerial view captures the extent of damages caused by the magnitude 7.8 quake.
Children observe discipline and order as they line up to receive bread from Tzu Chi volunteers.
Numerous cracks on the road served as reminders of the recent quake.
Numerous cracks on the road served as reminders of the recent quake.
In Jose Abad Santos, children play along an exposed seabed whose waters had receded after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
Back in Davao, teams Glan and Jose Abad Santos report on their respective ocular visits and discuss the appropriate forms of assistance to provide displaced communities.