Beatrice Luigi Gomez. Image: Instagram/@beatriceluigigmz
Miss Universe Philippines Beatrice Luigi Gomez is finally back in her hometown of Cebu City and has joined relief efforts for stranded victims of typhoon Odette.
The beauty queen, who had to undergo mandatory quarantine in Pasay City after her Miss Universe 2021 stint, distributed meals to drivers and passengers in the city, as seen on her Instagram page today, Dec. 31.
Gomez worked with the non-profit organization SimplyShare Foundation Inc. and the Philippine Navy Naval Reserve Center Eastern Visayas for the relief effort.
“We were able to distribute an estimated 1,000 meals yesterday morning to the stranded passengers and truck [and] cargo drivers in the Cebu City ports,” she told fans.
Gomez then explained that given the limited number of boats, decreased frequency of trips and increased cargo prices, many people were left stranded in ports since super typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) devastated the city.
Aside from the meals she helped distribute, the team has also served 5,000 meals to other typhoon Odette victims in Cebu City, as well as 10,000 water purification tablets to those in Siargao, other parts of Surigao, Cebu province and Cebu City.
Gomez’s family in Cebu were among those who fell victim to typhoon Odette when it ravaged various areas in Visayas and Mindanao earlier this month. They are all physically safe but the apartment building they are residing in was badly damaged by the typhoon.
For Christmas this year, the beauty queen’s mother and sister settled for fast food takeouts for dinner since there were still no water supply and electricity in their home during the holiday. Despite this, Gomez’s mother reminded her that surviving Odette with their dogs and their “beloved colony of stray cats” was enough reason to be grateful.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the death toll related to typhoon Odette has risen to 405, while 1,147 people were injured and 82 remain missing, as of this writing. The typhoon also left P16 billion worth of damage to infrastructure and P28 million damage to homes. JB
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