Empress shares 'Ondoy' experience

Author: Angela Casauay
Column: Manila, Entertainment

THE sister of teen actress Empress Shuck was not spared from the flood brought by Typhoon Ondoy.

Empress said her sister lives in Villarica Village, Ortigas Extension. "She evacuated safely to a friend's house in Antipolo."

Sun.Star sighted Empress at Mega Tent, Ortigas. She volunteered in the relief operations there.

The teen actress shared that the first floor of her sister's house was consumed by the flood, and so was the freshly-bought car.

During the onslaught of Typhoon Ondoy, her sister and her housemates had to stay on the second floor of the house.

"She saved up for the car for a long time. They were on the second floor and they didn't have electricity. Her cell phone was low batt so I couldn't text her last Sunday," Empress said.

"Her last message was she could see a helicopter but she's not sure whether it's for rescue operations or they were just surveying the area since there's nowhere to land anyway," she added.

But they only lost communication for a few hours. Her sister along with her housemates were rescued by a friend and brought to safety in Antipolo.

"We couldn't go there because the roads are closed. We have nowhere to pass through and we also do not know what will happen if we go out because it's also raining."

Her sister has been doing well after tragedy. "We haven't really talked to her. But she said they are eating, sleeping well, and safe."

Meanwhile, Empress was seen unpacking boxes and arranging juice tetra-packs and distributing them evenly among volunteers carrying plastic bags to be delivered to different areas affected by Typhoon Ondoy.

"I've long wanted to volunteer but our driver is not available anymore. Since my friends are here, they brought me along. They picked me up from the house," Empress said.

After volunteering in Mega Tent, Empress said their next stop for that night was Red Cross, and the next day, Sagip Kapamilya by ABS-CBN, her mother network.

Empress is a Star Magic talent. She reprised Maricel Soriano's role in Underage in an edition of "Your Song Presents" in ABS-CBN.

Source: Sunstar Daily