Jericho Rosales finally speaks up about his heroic deeds during Typhoon Ondoy

Jericho Rosales was one of the celebrities who risked their lives to help save the victims of the Ondoy tragedy. Jericho braved rising floodwaters using only his surfboard to rescue people stranded in their homes. “Wala 'yun, maraming-marami pang iba na hindi kilala na nagtutulong-tulong. Saludo talaga ako. God bless the family of the construction worker who saved 30 lives [and died after one rescue]. Kasi wala naman ['yun ginawa ko, e], matagal na akong nagsu-surf, ten years na. Kaya ko namang mag-paddle sa tubig, eh. To be honest with you I didn’t want any interview about that because I believe na kung ano yung ginawa ko, it's not that great.”



Jericho admitted that the heavy rains brought about by Typhoon Ondoy were scary, but he realized that he should not just sit and wait in his home until the flood subsided. He said that he needed to take action and help those who needed to be rescued.

“For me, the great thing about it, I guess, [is that] I hoped I inspired other people to help as well. For example, my friends, a day after [the storm] lumabas sila, dala-dala na nila ang surfboards nila. Buong Aloha team namin, surfers talaga, nandun na sa Pasig at sa Cainta. More than 20 of them. The next day nasa helicopter na sila dropping off [relief] goods.”

The actor also reacted to criticisms that he only went out to help his neighbors for the sake of publicity. “There are many ways to promote myself, but you know kung ano man ang naiisip ninyo I don’t actually need to promote myself because it's not really my job. I'm not running for politics.”

Jericho also revealed some of the incidents that have left their mark on him since then. “Merong time noong gabi na nagpa-paddle ako sa streets, hindi ko kabisado talaga. Natatakot ako [sa current kasi a] few hundred meters away, ilog na 'yun, e. Sumisigaw kami, 'May tao ba diyan?’ [Then] biglang may sisigaw. Then there was one question that hit me, [someone asked,] 'Titigil ba ang ulan?' Sabi ko, 'Titigil po in Jesus's name. May tutulong na po diyan.’ They just wanted to talk to me [for] assurance lang. Sabi ko, 'May MMDA na po diyan, may salbabida po kami. Ito po ang linya magkakabit po kami. Kailangan po namin ng hagdan.’ True enough, tumigil ang ulan. It was one of the most solid at totoong time sa buhay ko.”

The actor had preferred not to talk about what he had done since he felt no need for it. But Genesis, the talent management agency he belongs to, enlightened him. “I was asking Sir Gary (Valenciano) and my pastors. Sabi ko, 'What's the point of [talking about it in public?]’ They said, 'Point is, you inspire other people to do it so go ahead and talk about it, tell them what you did.’ I've been invited to some relief centers and I asked, 'What am I going to do there?' They say, 'Just talk to them.' Parang 'yun ang time na na-realize ko how depressed our country was that time. 'Yung simpleng encouragement lang talaga na-boost ang morale nila.”

The tragedy has also left him some life lessons he won’t likely forget. “What I learned from the bagyo is that it doesn't really matter who you are. It really doesn't matter where you are standing. It doesn't matter whether you live in a big house or you're driving a nice car. What matters is what you are and what's inside your heart. Sabi ko 'nung araw na 'yun, habang nagpa-paddle ako, 'Kapag tayo binaha, hinubaran at walang matitira, pare-pareho lang tayo."

“Sa buhay ng tao may oras para tumawa, may oras para umiyak. May oras para magpugay, may oras para magluksa. May oras para manahimik, may oras para mag-ingay. Sa buhay natin may mga oras na ganito dumadaan ang bagyo, 'di ba?” Ang purpose ng ulan minsan is to clean the air, clean the environment. Maybe a tragedy like this happened in our lives to clean our hearts to clean our mind, to clear away all the bad things in our lives. And that after the rainy days, the sun will shine again.”

He also had words of encouragement for the survivors of Ondoy and for the whole Philippines. “I'm so sure po na kung ano man ang nangyayari ngayon ay may magandang epekto. Mas magiging matibay kayong tao, mas magkakaroon kayo ng maraming kaibigan. Mas magkakaroon kayo ng malinaw na pananaw sa buhay at mas makikilala niyo si God kung sino talaga siya. God just wants to make you feel that He loves you unconditionally. He just wants to make you restore [your life] at iayos ang lahat ng bagay. Don't waste your time thinking about negative stuff. Start thinking about good things. If you're going to spend your time thinking about something, think about good things and it will actually make you feel good.”

Source

Posted in: Jericho Rosales, Surfboard, Typhoon Ondoy