When police officers help others and become builders

Police officers of Police Station 2 of Lapu-Lapu City turn a shanty (top photo) into a small semi-concrete house enough for a scavenger mom’s family of six to comfortably be dry when it rains. (above photo).| Photo from Station 2

CEBU CITY, Philippines — When people care and work together, they can move mountains or in this case build a house.

That is what policemen from Lapu-Lapu City Police Office’s Police Station 2 did and more.

The policemen turned a shanty in Sitio Bukid-Bukid, Barangay Pajac, Lapu-Lapu City into a semi-concrete house and provided a scavenger, who is a single mother, and her five children a stable roof over their heads — one that would keep them dry when it rains.

“Pagpakabana sa isig katawo” kay once naa ka ana nga kinaiya daghan ka nga matabangan nga mga sama ni Nanay Emelita,” said Police Corporal Diseree Jadol of the Police Community Relations Office of Police Station 2.

(Caring for our fellowmen. If we have that trait then we can help many people like Nanay Emelita.)

Jadol was referring to the house that she and her fellow policemen at Police Station 2 and other volunteers of the community like those from the MRF facility built for scavenger — Emelita Cañete, 47.

Canete, who had to raise her five children after her husband died 10 years ago, by whatever she can earn through scavenging.

Her four daughters, whose ages are 20, 18, 16 and 10; and a son, 14, would help her with her scavenging in order to buy food and survive.

And at the end of the day, the family of six would go home in their shanty, made of rotten wood, bamboo, and an improvised roof made of nipa.

The visit

This was where Police Corporal Jadol and her partner Police Corporal Nelden Argallon found the 10-year-old daughter during one rainy afternoon — she was sitting with her other siblings in one dry corner of the house trying to stay away from the rain getting inside the house from the leaking roof.

Jadol and Argallon were then visiting the girl’s home for the first time to assess the situation of the family because the girl was an adopted meber of the Police Station 2’s KAP-LAG (Kabataan Alagaan Sa Pulis-Libud suroy Ampingan sa Gobyerno) program.

That scene of the siblings huddled in one corner trying to stay dry inside their small shanty touched the hearts of the police officers and created a spark that drove them to start a project to build a house for these family.

“Luoy gyud kaayo sila kay nag tikongkong sa ilang barong-barong para dili mabasa sa ulan,” said Jadol.

(They were a sorry sight to see because the siblings were trying to stay dry in a corner of their leaking shanty as the rain poured down.)

After that meeting with the family, Jadon and Argonello asked their Police Station 2 chief, Police Major Narciso Abapo, to implement her plan to build a house for Elenita and her children.

“Naka decide mi nga mananghid sa among hepe nga mao na among plano nga tukuran og balay si nanay para aduna na silay tarung nga katulgan ug dili na intawn magtikongkong sa panahon sa ting ulan,” said Jadol.

(We decided to ask permission from our chief about our plans to help build a house for nanay so that they could have a proper shelter to sleep in and they would not have to find a dry place in their shanty to stay when it would rain.)

Building the house

The police officers turned carpenters and builders after getting off from their shift and head straight to the site to help build it.

They were also thankful for the volunteers and donors who provided the materials like hollow blocks, wood, galvanized iron to build the house.

With the volunteers’ and policemen joining hands to build the house after a few weeks — the result was a small semi-concrete house painted blue and white, with a galvanized iron roof, which is now Nanay Emilita’s house.

And officially, the house was turned over to the happy family of Nanay Emilita last Friday, July 31, 2020. 

The house, which then was made up entirely of light materials and were almost rotten, became a concrete one painted in blue and white with galvanized iron roof.

For Jadol, helping build a home for the needy was an experience that she would remember all her life.

She said that if only one would care and then people could help many others like Nanay Emelita.