In the late ’90s, the Philippines was known as the “texting capital” of the world. Our status has been updated recently as the “social networking capital” of the world, as more and more Filipinos populate social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

 

(In Doghousediaries’ quirky illustrated map, “What Each Country Leads The World In,” our country is leading in social media use—much more preferable than Russia, known for “raspberries and nuclear warheads.”)

 

For a country plagued with natural disasters, social media has proven to be a very effective tool in mobilizing both government units and citizens to provide aid to areas in need.

 

The mother of all typhoons, “Haiyan”/“Yolanda,” left a devastated Visayas. Radio silence ensued as communication lines were cut off, and Tacloban’s terrain flattened. As the supertyphoon left the province in shambles, the social media storm surge began.

 

#reliefPH

 

Providing immediate relief to the devastated was everyone’s priority, and people immediately took to Twitter and Facebook to gather donations, goods and volunteers. Transportation was a problem, as roads and airports in Tacloban were destroyed.

 

Aid was ready, every able soul ready to lend a hand, but the logistics proved to be a nightmare. Again, people on social media offered up planes, ships and automobiles—anything—to help.

 

Hashtags #reliefPH and #rescuePH, which have been used since “Ondoy,” are now standard hashtags people on social media use.

 

Calls for volunteers are ongoing, as refugees continue to arrive in Manila looking for food, comfort and shelter. Several Facebook groups such as Operation Salubong Villamor Air Base have been set up to help organize volunteers into shifts and duties.

 

#searchandrescue

 

Though local government units had stockpiled goods in anticipation of the supertyphoon, nothing prepared them for Yolanda’s onslaught. In the aftermath of the storm, survivors scoured the rubble for supplies and loved ones. Photographers and journalists would photograph survivors, and jot down their names and messages to bring to worried families. People on Facebook would ask to share and repost photos and information about missing loved ones.

 

The photos of the missing would haunt us, and checking up on them would become an everyday habit.

 

We are still hoping and praying for Tarin Sustento, a three-year-old boy who was made to wear a life vest before his own parents perished. His relatives are still searching for him.

 

#hoaxes

 

With electricity and communication lines down, word of mouth became the chief means of relaying messages in badly hit areas. The darkness brought not only more despair but also  horrific tales of home intrusions, armed men ambushing relief trucks, tales of rape and pillaging, and rebel attacks. These stories would be relayed on social media, posted and reposted and shared until the true story disappeared completely.

 

Top hoaxes that circulated on Facebook and Twitter: Anderson Cooper being named US Ambassador to the Philippines (reposted from a satirical site which some people believed to be true), the Bureau of Customs levying taxes on relief goods coming in from Germany (reposts were accompanied by a news article from a few years ago; Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon denied this on his Facebook account), and many reposted “share this photo and we will donate so-and-so goods to the Philippines.”

 

Old photos from previous incidents were mined to create hoaxes to generate buzz; Justin Bieber’s photo from a Guatemalan visit was reposted to appear as if he were visiting Leyte.

 

While we value the speed of social media updates, we must take these with a grain of salt; not everyone posts to help.

 

#personfinder

 

Google’s Person Finder allows the public to look for and provide information on missing people.

 

#epalsbeware

 

Watchdogs on social media kept a close eye on politicians, calling out those who would sticker bags of relief goods with their names and faces.

 

#neighborlylove

 

We didn’t just hear tweets of love from people all over the world; we also received tangible aid, as countries sent goods, able bodies and money. Japan even sent workers who spoke fluent Tagalog, with one volunteer’s interview in Tagalog going viral on YouTube.

 

#governmentFAiTH

 

Amid Twitter and Facebook vitriol against the government, especially on the heels of the Napoles case, many netizens expressed concern about how the international aid would be spent and allocated.

 

In an effort at complete transparency and accountability, the government set up a page on the gov.ph website called FAiTH or Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (https://www.gov.ph/faith/full-report).

 

The moniker is timely, as the social media response to the government and its relief efforts is not so favorable. The FAiTH report lists down each organization/country that has donated to the victims of Yolanda.

 

The site also indicates whether donations received were in cash or in kind, and where they are to be used. FAiTH has also opened the page for comments from users.

 

#statuspolice

 

There were those who tweeted and retweeted ways to help, and then there were those who enjoyed policing everyone’s status updates. “How dare you Instagram a picture of food when hundreds of thousands are without food and water?!” “How insensitive!” “Please, let us all exercise sensitivity and tact” were some of the status messages we’d see daily. Selfie and food posters were shamed, declared vapid, insensitive and unfeeling.

 

#bastadriversweetlover

 

As survivors trickled out of Leyte to temporary relief areas in Cebu and Manila, everyone banded together to create services like “Oplan Hatid,” where volunteer drivers would bring survivors who landed at Villamor Air Base to homes of their families around Manila.

 

A blog entry by Jessica Zafra recounted the experience of her friend who had volunteered—how cheerful and upbeat the atmosphere in the “Oplan Hatid” area was, how the volunteers would excitedly clamor to drive families to their destinations, and how one gamely agreed to drive a family to and from Baguio.

 

#armchairpundits

 

Supertyphoon Haiyan/Yolanda was picked up by news outfits all over the world, and as footage of survivors demanding food and water after a couple of days circulated and made news, armchair pundits crawled out of the social media woodwork, criticizing the government and its shortcomings, railing against those who had put them in office, and unfriending those who didn’t share their opinions.

 

#politics

 

The never-ending power struggle and grandstanding are evident as politics vied for glory shots on primetime news; even the relief operations at Villamor Air Base were reportedly derailed due to politics. Even private institutions were reportedly holding on to relief goods until certain personalities were present to hand them out.

 

#sanchezvscooper

 

Anderson Cooper, the dreamy silver fox of CNN, went to Tacloban to report what was happening there. His remarks in one of his reports were taken out of context by TV Patrol anchor Korina Sanchez, who called him out on her radio show, claiming, “Sabi wala daw government presence sa Tacloban, mukhang hindi niya alam ang sinasabi niya.” Never one to back down from anything (his Twitter feed is proof), Cooper addressed her remarks on his own show, with footage to prove he said no such thing. Burn.

 

#everydayheroes

 

Social media networks were quick to recognize the everyday heroes in this tragedy, with every good deed retweeted and shared, like the botika owner from Bambang who gave additional cash to someone buying medicine for donations, or the pharmacy that added almost P3,000 worth of medical supplies to a customer buying meds for donation.

 

Every day, the stories of selflessness come in, shared and reshared, reaffirming and restoring one’s faith in humanity.