Oxfam Pilipinas launched a ₱68.1 million (€1 million) humanitarian appeal to support 18,000 families (90,000 individuals) affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck offshore near Bogo City, northern Cebu, on September 30, 2025.
Amid the race against time to save lives and restore dignity, Oxfam Pilipinas and its local partners have mobilized rapid response efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to thousands affected by recent natural disasters across the Philippines.
Oxfam Pilipinas launched a ₱68.1 million (€1 million) humanitarian appeal to support 18,000 families (90,000 individuals) affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake—the strongest ever recorded in the region according to PHIVOLCS—that struck offshore near Bogo City, northern Cebu, on September 30, 2025.
Within 72 hours, Oxfam Pilipinas and Coastal CORE deployed humanitarian teams to assess needs and distribute food, potable water, emergency shelter, and solar lights.
The ACCESS consortium, funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), distributed additional solar lights and shelter kits to 335 individuals in Barangay Malingin, where power lines were still down and homes destroyed, helping families navigate dark nights and protect themselves from heat and rain. The consortium helped build a new water facility benefiting 500 people amid a severe water shortage.
“It’s such a relief when somebody understands what we’re going through,” said Dindo Duyag, 56, one of the beneficiaries.
To help residents cope with trauma amid continuous aftershocks, a psychosocial first aid responder from the Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK), a partner of Oxfam Pilipinas, conducted psychosocial support sessions for children, senior citizens, and persons with disability in Bogo City.
“These interventions combine psychosocial and biological wellness—helping young people manage trauma and regain joy, even after disasters,” shared Josefa Roces-Pizon, a PKKK psychosocial first aider.
Before the Cebu quake, Oxfam Pilipinas and partner Coastal CORE had already launched rapid response operations in Northern Luzon and the Visayas after the successive storms. In coordination with LGUs, the teams distributed food kits, hygiene kits, and water kits to residents of Calayan, Cagayan, hardest hit by super typhoon Nando (international name: Ragasa) on September 22. Under the ACCESS consortium, another 100 hygiene kits, 200 water kits, 100 solar lighting kits, and 125 food kits reached the hard-
to-reach island communities.
“The urgency of delivering life-saving aid to these remote, hard-to-reach communities cannot be overstated,” said Rhoda Avila, Oxfam Pilipinas Humanitarian Portfolio Manager.
Oxfam Pilipinas and partners reached Masbate, after Severe Tropical Storm Opong (international name: Bualoi) made landfall on September 26. Sleeping kits for 100 households in San Jacinto and San Fernando, Ticao Island, provided crucial relief to families.
In Dolores, Eastern Samar, where Opong first made landfall, 497 individuals from 12 barangays received pre-emptive cash assistance from implementing partner SIKAT Inc. under the SHARPER 2 project supported by Oxfam Pilipinas. The aid allowed families to buy emergency food and medicine and reinforce homes before the typhoon hit.
The assistance helped families purchase food, medicine, and materials to reinforce their homes before the typhoon’s landfall.
Oxfam Pilipinas’ response to the recent typhoons and the Cebu earthquake comes as the Philippines advances policy support for anticipatory action, a proactive disaster management approach formally recognized under Republic Act 12287, or the Declaration of a State of Imminent Disaster Act.
“Since 2019, Oxfam Pilipinas has championed anticipatory action as a proactive response to hazards such as cyclones, flooding, and drought,” said Lot Felizco, Oxfam Pilipinas Executive Director, welcoming the new law. “By acting ahead of predictable shocks, we can prevent them from escalating into humanitarian emergencies.”
The organization urged the government to expedite the release of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Imminent Disaster Act to institutionalize anticipatory financing, early warning systems, anticipatory financing, and pre-disaster coordination mechanisms.
“The recent earthquake and successive typhoons show we no longer have the luxury of waiting,” Felizco said. “Communities deserve a system that anticipates their needs, not one that merely reacts to their losses.”
The landmark legislation, Republic Act No. 12287, paves the way for proactive government response, protecting people before floods, typhoons, or other hazards hit
As the country heads into typhoon season, Oxfam Pilipinas urges lawmakers and the president to swiftly enact the Imminent Disaster Bill into law—so we can act in advance and protect our people and livelihood even before disasters strike.
When disaster strikes, what could be better for the affected communities than a speedy emergency response? One that’s already happened. That’s the idea behind a new approach to cyclones and other hazards that are possible to predict: distributing cash in advance in the communities that lie in harm’s way.
At least 852 families in flood-prone barangays in Dolores town in Eastern Samar received preemptive cash assistance from the local government in anticipation of the potential impacts of the shear line and low-pressure area last November 18.