I Salute You, Sir Randy!

My respect and due recognition is directed to PO2 Randy de la Rez, a police officer of Cavite who was in Bayug, Iligan City, the hometown of her wife to pay a visit to her wife's parents  while typhoon Sendong was ravaging Iligan City and nearby Cagayan de Oro in the evening of December 16.

PO2 Randy de la Rea (photo: PhilStar.com)

His presence of mind as an experienced rescuer in Cavite and his bravery as a police officer made him a man of the hour and as an instant hero unknowingly by saving his wife, his in-laws and 15 others from drowning from floodwater brought by typhoon Sendong.

He related his daring and lifesaving experience. He said that in the middle of the night while their place was experiencing a blackout for the typhoon destroyed the lines of electricity and the place was heavily flooding with water, he directed the family of his wife on what to do. One by one, he brought them to the top of the Mango tree through an improvise rescue rope. In a couple of minutes, he overheard shouts, asking for help somewhere.

His instinct prompted him to rescue those screaming for help. He swam to where the shouts coming from without any light and was able to rescue and brought them to a huge mango tree until the floodwater subsided on Dec. 17, which was almost 6 hours of waiting.

“I did not think that I might die. What I only knew was I had to rescue those who were screaming for help. And it felt like there was an invisible hand that helped me carry out that job,” De la Rea said in the news.

On the following day, they came down from the Mango tree. The place was out of communication. Dead animals and dead people were seen all over the place. Many lives were taken by typhoon Sendong.

On January 2, he was presented to the media as a hero cop by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome.

Sir Randy, I salute you for saving lives. It's a job well done! Mabuhay ka! Long live!