MANILA, Philippines ? For the first time, loquacious and gregarious TV host Carmina Villaroel was at a loss for words.

On last Wednesday?s edition of GMA 7?s ?Sis,? mainstay Villaroel was absent because, a show staffer explained, she was ?deeply affected? by the floods brought about by Tropical Storm ?Ondoy? four days earlier.

The home Villaroel shared with partner Zoren Legazpi and their twin children Maverick and Cassandra in Maybunga, Pasig, was ruined.

?She?s having a tough time; she?s not yet ready to talk to the press,? the staffer relayed to Inquirer Entertainment.

The next day, Carmina managed a phone interview with ?Sis? co-hosts Janice and Gelli de Belen.

?I?m speechless,? the grief-stricken Villaroel, speaking in Filipino, told viewers. At one point, Villaroel asked to take a break: ?I can?t talk...?

She said she agreed to talk on-air to call attention to the plight of her entire neighborhood in Pasig.

?[The local government] says it is doing its best, but why isn?t the water subsiding yet?? the actress wanted to know.

She continued: ?We want to help others, but we can?t even help ourselves. I cannot go back to work. I have nothing left. I don?t know where to start.?

Reach out

Cristine Reyes, whose family home in Provident Villages, Marikina, was similarly damaged, said, ?The best way to cope is to reach out and help other victims. It would be easy to get depressed, but I decided to join the Kapuso Foundation?s relief operations in Marikina, instead.? said Cristine.

She added, ?I was so traumatized, that I couldn?t sleep, even though I was exhausted. But with the help of family and friends, I?m recovering.?

Now, Reyes knows for sure that random acts of kindness, extended at the right time, make a big difference in people?s lives. ?My friends Maxene Magalona, Bianca King and Liz Uy, and my sponsors Mint and Natasha sent me clothes so I could go back to work.?

On his own

Joining Reyes in relief efforts is ?Patient X? co-star Richard Gutierrez, who rescued the actress from the roof of her house in Marikina.

Reyes and Gutierrez led the distribution of food and supplies to 2,000 families in Nangka High School in Marikina on Wednesday.

?Thank you isn?t enough,? Reyes said, to express her gratitude to Gutierrez.

The actor told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, ?Before distributing the goods, I went to Tumana, Marikina, to join the clean-up drive.? He called his experience ?an eye-opener.?

?It?s very important to clean up after the storm so that the people?s health wouldn?t be put at risk,? Gutierrez said, adding that he joined the clean-up efforts, spearheaded by GMA 7?s News and Public Affairs department, on his own.

He is hosting a new documentary, his third with the News and Public Affairs team, which will focus on the effects of ?Ondoy.? He said, ?We will present detailed information, as well as first-hand accounts, in the docu which airs next week.?

K Brosas, whose two-story home in Vermont Park Town & Country Executive Village in Cainta was gravely damaged by raging floodwaters, is out of danger. But the trauma suffered by her teenaged daughter may have a long-term effect, the singer said.

K, her daughter Crystal and several relatives were marooned on the roof for almost 24 hours. In an interview aired on the show biz program ?SNN,? K related: ?While I was close to panicking, Crystal was so quiet ? nakatulala s?ya. I was scared, baka kasi hindi n?ya lang ma-express. The rescue teams never got to us. We fended for ourselves.?

ATM booth

Comedian Jason Gaiza had no choice but to ride out the storm inside an ATM booth in Quezon City on Saturday night. He could not get his wife and kids in Don Abdon Homes in Sto. Niño, Marikina City.

?I went home at 8 p.m. the following day,? Gaiza recounted. ?My family was safe but the whole house was muddy. We could not save any of our appliances. But it could have been worse, so I?m just thankful. A lot of friends offered help.?

Among those who bravely helped residents in Vista Real Classica ? one of the hardest hit subdivisions in the Commonwealth area in Quezon City ? were actors Cesar Montano, Bayani Agbayani and Gerald Anderson. Cesar and Bayani reside in the adjacent village, Tivoli Royale. To get from one house to another despite the raging floods, the actors used ropes tied to trees, said actress Sunshine Cruz, Montano?s wife.

Missing grandma

For four days, actor Derek Ramsay could not ascertain the whereabouts of his 92-year-old grandmother, who resides in a village in Cainta. Ramsay and girlfriend Angelica Panganiban searched in evacuation centers in the area. According to reports, Ramsay?s grandmother, slightly hurt after she slipped, is now in the house of a relative.

According to Grace Yap, division secretary of ABS-CBN?s talent management arm Star Magic, other network contract artists whose homes were damaged by mud and flood waters are Bangs Garcia, Regine Angeles, Igi Boy Flores, Jane Oineza and Aldred Gatchalian.