As demand and prices of face masks soared following the sudden eruption of Taal Volcano, female inmates in a jail in Quezon and a 61-year-old seamstress in Lipa City, Batangas volunteered to help the people badly affected by ash fall.
In Quezon, female inmates at the Gumaca District Jail donated some face masks they sewed with their bare hands to Taal eruption evacuees.
“Nothing is impossible with persons who really want to help,” a jail officer said.
The effort of the female Persons Deprived of Liberty was posted on the Facebook account of Ella Mae Merilloza or Jail Officer 2 Michelle Merilloza of the Gumaca District Jail.
“Proud ako sa aking nasasakupang inmates dahil di naging hadlang ang rehas sa pagpapabatid nila ng tulong sa mga kababayang nangangailangan,” Merilloza said in her post.
According to Merilloza, the idea came from her daughter Mycka Elioza Merilloza, who learned on the first day of volcano eruption that there was urgent need for face masks to protect the fleeing residents from ashfall.
JO2 Merilloza talked to the female inmates regarding her daughter’s proposal to which the detained women agreed at once.
Merilloza said Mycka’s initiative was also supported by the jail warden, Jail Chief Insp. Rodante Oblefias.
The female inmates sewed with their bare hands the face masks made up of cloth and garter, which they called “face mask with a heart” because those were made with love, JO2 Merilloza said.
JO2 Merilloza said she posted it in good faith to inspire others to help the evacuees.
The inmates finished almost 100 pieces of face mask for a day and are still making more for distribution to the Taal evacuees.
Merilloza said her daughter bought the fabrics and other materials needed for the face masks.
In Batangas, 61-year-old Rosalina Mantuano, a seamstress for 45 years, began sewing dozens of colorful masks using scrap fabric in her atelier and gave it away for free to her neighbors in Lipa City, just 20 kilometers from the Taal Volcano.
“As a seamstress, I thought what if I made my own masks and give it away for free to those affected. That is what I did,” said Mantuano, who makes 100 face masks a day.
Many residents and tourists were caught off guard after Taal shot giant clouds of ash high into the air last Sunday.
Shortly after the eruption, supply of face masks dropped and prices increased to as much as five times the usual price. The trade ministry has threatened to sue businessmen and shutter their shops for raising prices to unreasonable levels.
Cloth donations poured in when people heard of Manuano’s efforts, she said. She has since received cloth donations, allowing her to produce around 400 more checkered, flowery, and striped face masks.
“A lot of people here needed face masks, supplies were sold out and others were very expensive,” said neighbor Remedios Guevarra.
Mantuano’s son-in-law, a member of a motorcycle riders’ group, delivers food and the home-made masks to evacuation centers. (Danny Estacio and Reuters)
