'Rambulan' online turns into actual 'bayanihan' for COVID-19 frontliners

What started out as a group of engineers jokingly picking fights on Facebook turned into a network of Filipinos engaging in “bayanihan” for healthcare workers leading the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The Luzon-wide lockdown has left thousands of Filipinos bored inside their homes, leading to a sudden surge of “Online Rambulan” groups on Facebook purely intended as a form of entertainment.

“Engineering Rambulan” became popular among netizens after one member shared the now-viral story of how his romantic advances were turned down by a girl he met in the group.

Since then, the group’s membership has grown exponentially and now includes even Filipino engineers working overseas.

“May nag-open na bakit daw hindi kami gumawa ng fundraising para sa mga frontliners, tutal ang dami namin, ‘yung iba nasa ibang bansa pa,” the group’s administrator Renz Parungao said.

Donations grew to P1,000,000 in no time.

Thanks to their bayanihan, the engineers have provided personal protective equipment to 25 hospitals within and outside Metro Manila.

“Sobrang sarap sa pakiramdam na ang nakatulong kami sa ganitong paraan, patunay na hindi naman kami puro kalokohan,” Parungao said.

Watch this Stand for Truth report by Nico Waje to learn more about the group. -Julia Mari Ornedo/NB, GMA News