As heavy rains battered Metro Manila and inundated many areas of the capital, an outpouring of messages of support and sympathy flooded the social microblogging site Twitter from international and local celebrities.
Filipino-American rapper apl.de.ap tweeted, “Help me pray for my country, there’s a big flood right now.” Using his Twitter handle, @apl_de, he later posted, “Anybody would help me on fOd drive for people in philippine(s)?”
Apl.de.ap’s fellow Black Eyed Peas member, will.i.am, also tweeted: “Pray for the phillipines…my best friend @apl_de has family in manila…pray for @apl_de beautiful country.”
Marimar remembers
Bruno Mars, another Filipino-American singer, tweeted: “Keep Safe Filipinos! Thanks Mr. Sun! Pray for the Philippines!”
Mexican singer and actress Thalia, who became a sensation in the Philippines in the 1990s because of her hit telenovelas, also took to Twitter to send her message: “To my friends in the Philippines. The rain and floods are causing so much damage :-( My thoughts and prayers to all! Stay safe!”
Korean sensation Jay Park also tweeted using his account @JAYBUMAOM: “Hope everyone in the Philippines is OK!! #prayforPhilippines”
Meanwhile, “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest tweeted: “From London to Manila, my thoughts are with the people of the Philippines. Stay safe. Stay resilient.”
From Jessica
Filipino-American singer and “American Idol” runner-up Jessica Sanchez also tweeted the hashtag “#PrayForThePhilippines” using her account, @JSanchezA11.
“American Idol” alumni David Cook and David Archuleta, who both have a huge following in the country, also sympathized with the flood-stricken Filipinos.
“Sad to see the news coming out of the Philippines. Sending thoughts and love to everyone there,” Cook tweeted using @thedavidcook:
Using @DavidArchi, Archuleta tweeted, “Our thoughts go out to all affected by the flooding in Manila and the surrounding areas.”
Message from Gaiman
Meanwhile, best-selling author Neil Gaiman, who has visited the country several times, tweeted, “Sending love to the Philippines. (Will also send aid donation using #reliefPH info…)”
NBA star Pau Gasol sent his message through his account @paugasol: “All my support to all the families that are suffering the terrible floods in the Philippines #PrayForThePhilippines.”
Anne’s tweet
In the Philippines, actress Anne Curtis, the most-followed Filipino celebrity on Twitter with 3.2 million followers, tweeted: “To all my lovely followers, let’s get together blankets, towels any clothing items that you have to spare and donate them to Sagip Kapamilya,” she said.
Using her account, @annecurtissmith, she later posted: “To all my fellow pinoys, taas noo. Kaya natin to. Babangon tayo AT nakangiti pa. This is the famous trait of Filipinos!”
Megatweet
Tweeting from Sydney, Sharon Cuneta posted on her account @sharon_cuneta12, “I am so sad to read the news about all of you back in the Philippines—the rains are scaring me again. It seems like a never-ending process of suffering-recovering.”
“I will say a prayer for you all. Pls. do not lose faith or hope. Hang in there. God bless and protect you. I love you and am thinking of all of you. Please take care,” Cuneta added.
Singer Jim Paredes tweeted: “We may have been hit bad by rains. But recovery begins now. Let’s go!”
Netizens also passed around the link to a post by International Herald Tribune writer Mark McDonald, in which he pointed out the resilience of Filipinos.
“[O]n social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, and through text messages, Filipinos demonstrated a remarkable civic spirit as they shared news of evacuation centers and drop-off points for donations of emergency supplies,” McDonalds wrote.
“They praised rescue teams, and they encouraged each other. They pleaded for calm—and there were few reported signs of panic, even from those who were stranded. And they prayed,” he added.
Most tweeted
Dominating the list of trending topics in Twitter Philippines Wednesday was the hashtag #bangonPilipinas, which Netizens used to uplift the spirit of flood victims.
Also among the most tweeted was the hashtag #reliefPH, which was used to call for help and inspire relief efforts. Inquirer Research