Almost five years after Typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda) wreaked havoc in central Philippines, the survivors in Bantayan Island, Cebu still remember it like it was yesterday.

Nenita Pacinio could still vividly recall the ordeal they had to go through to survive one of the strongest typhoons recorded in history.

“Naglakad kami sa dagat. Nag-iyakan na talaga lahat, naghawak-kamay. Sabi po ng kapatid ko hindi na daw niya kaya po. Sabi ko ‘kayanin mo, marami ka pang anak,” she said in between tears.

The 27-year-old seaweed farmer said they had to brave huge typhoon waves to walk to safety after losing their houses to the storm.

Surviving one of the most catastrophic storms in the Philippines is no small feat. But the young mother of one shared that an outpour of support from so many people have helped them get by.

As one of the 50 family beneficiaries of DMCI Homes and Habitat for Humanity Philippines’ socialized housing for Yolanda survivors, Pacinio is comforted by the thought they are not alone in their fight.

“Masakit po sa amin na mawalan ng bahay at hanapbuhay kaya nagpapasalamat po kami sa inyo at sa lahat ng tumutulong sa amin,” shared Pacinio. 

DMCI Homes, the country’s first Quadruple A developer has earned its sixth recognition as one of the country’s top developers in the 2018 BCI Asia Top Ten Awards.

Organized by the BCI Media Group, the award is given to developer and architecture firms with the highest value portfolios of projects during the last full calendar year as weighted by the extent of their sustainability efforts and confirmed green building ratings.

“This recognition reinforces DMCI Homes’ commitment to develop eco-friendly communities and sustainable building designs to serve the best interests of our clients and the environment,” said Jan Venturanza, DMCI Homes Assistant Vice President for Marketing who represented the company during the ceremony in Shangri-La at The Fort, Taguig last June 8.

DMCI Homes submitted as entries its recent projects located in key cities in Metro Manila namely Oak Harbor Residences in Parañaque, Fairway Terraces in Pasay and Mulberry Place in Acacia Estates, Taguig.

Believing it is one of the sports where Filipinos can better excel in, the Henry V. Moran Foundation (Moran Foundation) has joined hands with premier real estate developer DMCI Homes to stimulate the grassroots development of futsal in the Philippines.

The Moran Foundation who works closely with Philippine Football Federation (PFF), public schools and charitable organizations in promoting the development of futsal in the country, hopes to make use of sports amenities of residential condominium communities to develop more futsal players in the country.

FIFA Futsal Elite Referee and Futsal Coach Rey Ritaga, who is the first Filipino national player to ever officiate in a FIFA Futsal World Cup event said he sees better potential for Filipinos to excel in futsal compared to other sports because of its system of play.

“I believe we have better chances in this sport because first of all a futsal ball is denser and has less bounce compared to football which means it is played mostly on the ground,” explained Ritaga, in reference to the 5-a-side indoor football played on basketball courts and small open space.

“So we don’t need big players to play the sport. In futsal, a player can excel as long as he or she is armed with the necessary skills like dribbling, scoring, speed and teamwork,” he added.

Kevin Goco, Futsal Department Head of the PFF and volunteer of the Moran Foundation said they are planning to stage pick-up games in selected DMCI Homes condo communities to generate interest for futsal.

The group has also started conducting clinics for kids aged 4-12 years in DMCI Homes’ Zinnia Towers development in Quezon City beginning May 2018.

“DMCI Homes is one of the largest community developers in the country. And all we need for a futsal program is a basketball court or open area, which almost every DMCI Homes community has, and we could really create a massive grassroots program for the different communities,” Goco said.

But more than promoting futsal, Goco said building character among the Filipino youth is the ultimate goal of the foundation in propagating the sport in the country.