Abstract

During emergency situations, cooperation among the members of the population is of great importance. Aside from the government leaders and officials who are expected to reach out to the affected populace, Civil Society Organizations and private individuals in Davao Region have been doing their works of compassion to provide the needed assistance to communities and individuals who are mostly affected during disaster and emergency situations. In fact, our works on the ground can attest that a lot of concerned people who felt the burning desire to render help would rather give their donations to these groups because they are assured that their assistance will certainly reach to the most affected families and individuals in the community. This paper tries to examine the different roles of engagements played by the Civil Society Organizations and private individuals to help those who are mostly affected during this Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing from their insights as well as from the available literature on the roles of CSOs and private individuals during emergency situations, this paper will argue that CSOs and private individuals in Davao Region have been very active not only in doing concrete works of compassion on the ground but also in challenging other stakeholders to take part in this work of compassion including the government leaders to prioritize compassion over their political ambition. It will then argue that the success of any intervention during emergency situations often depends on the cooperation of the members of the population.