Noting the sacrifices made by dozens of volunteers in repacking thousands of relief goods for typhoon Odette victims at his warehouse General Santos City, Senator Manny Pacquiao joined them but gave them a bonus.

The presidential aspirant sang to the volunteers as they joined hands in organizing packages of relief goods that were to be distributed immediately to areas where they were most needed.

Volunteers, many of them working non-stop for nearly 12 hours and some until the early morning of Saturday, Dec. 18, were apparently relieved by Pacquiao’s song number.

Pacquiao said singing and trying to cheer the volunteers were his way of repaying their generosity and the bayanihan spirit demonstrated by them in extending help to those who were have to be evacuated in the wake of the super typhoon’s devastation.

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One of his songs narrated how the poor celebrate Christmas.

The senator from Mindanao, who has championed the cause of the poor, sang: “Aanhin ko ang yaman kung ikaw ay walang kaibigan. Anhin ko ang ginto kung makasugat ka ng ibang puso. Kahit tuyo lang ang aming ulam, kami ay masaya kahit ganyan. Dahil iyan lang ang aming nakayanan, iyan ang Christmas ng mahihirap. (What is the use of wealth if you don’t have friends. What’s the use of gold if you hurt others. Even though we only have dried fish, we are happy. Because that is what we can afford, that is Christmas to the poor.) Earlier, Pacquiao called on his rivals to set aside politics for a while for them to be able to respond to the needs of the typhoon victims.

Vice President Leni Robredo lauded the senator’s appeal and quickly responded to his call for a united stance in assisting the thousands of Odette victims.

“Natutuwa nga kai na nauna si Senator Pacquiao dito at mabilis kaagad na sumang-ayon si VP Leni dahil panahon talaga ng ganito na may malaking pangangailangan ang ating mga kababayan, i-set aside muna natin ang pulitika. (We’re ahppy that Senator Pacquiao initiated this and VP Leni was quick to concur because indeed politics must be set aside during times of crisis,” said former Rep. Barry Gutierrez, Robredo’s spokesman.

Partido Lakas ng Masa’s Ka Leody de Guzman also responded to Pacquiao’s appeal, saying that the senator’s call was “timely.” In a twitter post on Thursday, Pacquiao said: “I appeal to my fellow candidates, VP Leni Robredo, Bongbong Marcos, Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, Senator Ping Lacson, Ka Leody that due to the devastation of typhoon Odette that we set aside all politics and join together all our resources to help our fellow Filipinos in Visayas and Mindanao.”