For months, there has been a running social media tussle between Tagalogs and the Bisaya, with memes ranging from the outrageously clever to the downright funny. It is often not for the politically-correct, onion-skinned and super-sensitive types.

I’m not sure whether this is just a garden-variety expression of competing fandoms of traditional politics. But what I’m sure is that many who have traveled or migrated to and from both places, and have friends and family who are Tagalogs and Bisaya, are enjoying the double meanings, the cleverness, and the wicked humor of everything in this “Tagalog vs. Bisaya” memes.

Both camps briefly united for the Baha sa Luneta and Trillion Peso March rallies of Sept. 21. Protests were also held in several cities in the Visayas. Meme-wise, there were a lot of hand-shakes, alliances and cross-overs between the two camps to signify a common fight.

It didn’t matter whether one called it Luneta or “Lonita.” Both Tagalogs and the Bisaya simply don’t want to be associated with the corrupt.

Then, as September was drawing to a close, a tremor shook the middle of our archipelago. In Central Visayas. In Cebu.

To the credit of our wonderful GenZ’s, the Tagalog vs. Bisaya memes instantly stopped to give way to solidarity. Tagalogs and others calling for prayers and waiting for information about how to help Cebuanos at this time of urgent need.

I think it is an understatement to say that the nation’s heart shattered into a million pieces after seeing the many images that came out after the powerful magnitude 6.9 earthquake of Sept. 30 with epicenter at Bogo City and that ripped through the northern party of Cebu province.

Collapsed churches, buildings and houses. Ripped highways. Body bags and coffins. Stories of good sons and daughters dying in their courageous attempts to save parents and younger siblings. In the morning of Oct. 1, we could guess that the gates of heaven are lined up with the most courageous Cebuanos and Filipinos who died saving their families.

As of today, there are now relief operations and calls for donations across the country. Shipping companies have announced that they will accept and transport for free donations and relief goods intended for Cebu.

So-called irreconcilable differences are once again erased, because solidarity and compassion are basic to the Filipino. We may speak different languages, but we are one people sharing one country. We even have a traditional saying about it: “Ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay sakit ng buong katawan” (which is not easy to translate to English but which every Filipino would easily understand.) Perhaps, we could say, the Philippines hurts because Cebu hurts. Bogo’s suffering is Manila’s as well.

I think we will see more Tagalog vs. Bisaya memes soon after this tragedy, and perhaps for the next thousand years more, but not because these two camps are really after each other’s throats. It is a battle that’s not really as serious as Tagalog and Bisaya traditional politicians perhaps would want the differences to be. This is Pinoy humor, wickedly managing and poking fun at our linguistic, geographical and cultural differences. Yes, our sense of humor tickles and unites.

Metro Manila may still be predominantly Tagalog but it has become for several decades a melting pot for people from the provinces and regions. Some see overpopulation, but others see an inter-play and cohabitation of the many strands of Filipinos. In our national capital region, we share the same jeepney, bus and train rides, work the daily grind side by side, watch the same telenovelas and Koreanovelas, get angry together over the antics of lawmakers and public officials, and exchange different cultures in the shared spaces and times.

Certainly, we have an eternity to talk about our differences and examine our sense of humor. Now is the time for action. Cebuanos need our help.

After seeing hundreds of billions disappearing in ghost projects, and trillions of pesos approved in pork-laden national budgets, I think people are not to be swayed by government allotments of “loose change” for relief operations and for reconstruction of Cebu. The time when government tells us “there’s no money” is over.

To help in the Cebu earthquake relief operations, please consider donating through:

Angat Buhay (BPI account number 0011-1921-65)

Caritas Manila (BDO account number 000560045905)

Cebu Archdiocesan Youthlinks Training and Assessment Center Inc. (Metrobank account number 308-3-30809178-4)

Philippine Red Cross (PNB account number 1607-1020-0331)

UP Cebu Educational and Research Foundation, Inc. (BPI account number 3611-0061-43)