INDIANAPOLIS — Fresh off the Indianapolis Colts’ three-day mandatory minicamp, starting safety Cam Bynum is already preparing for a far different mission than preparing for the upcoming NFL season: joining disaster relief efforts in the Philippines, a nation that holds deep personal meaning for him.
Bynum’s ties to the Southeast Asian archipelago run far deeper than casual connection. His mother Jen is of Filipino descent, he owns property in the country, and his wife Lalaine is Filipino — the pair even held their wedding there in March 2023. Long an advocate for the Philippines’ national flag football program, cross-Pacific trips during NFL offseasons have become a regular tradition for Bynum and his family. This year, however, the trip will center on recovery, not relaxation, after a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the country.
The powerful offshore quake, one of the strongest to strike the Philippines in 50 years, hit near the southern province of Sarangani on Monday. Official data puts the death toll at at least 37, with tens of thousands of residents displaced from their homes. While Bynum said he counts himself lucky that all of his family and close friends in the affected region escaped unharmed, many have lost their homes to the destruction.
“A week from now, I’m tied up here filming content for the NFL, which delays my departure a bit,” Bynum explained Thursday after practice. “But as soon as that wraps up, I’m heading straight for the Philippines. I’m grateful to have this window of time off before training camp to go there and actually contribute to the recovery.”
Bynum, who grew up in California and played college football at the University of California, Berkeley before being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, is entering his second season as a key contributor to the Colts’ defensive secondary, even amid widespread roster changes made by the team this offseason. He has long been open about celebrating his Filipino heritage; two years ago, he shared a public video dinner with his mother and other family members where he discussed Filipino cultural traditions and beloved cuisine.
With the Colts’ training camp set to kick off in just one month, Bynum’s trip will require careful balancing of his professional football preparation, personal rest, and new relief work. Through the Bynum Faith Foundation, the organization he founded, he will help coordinate community outreach and rebuilding projects in the earthquake zone.
His daily routine will look familiar in some ways: he plans to stick to his workout schedule, holding 7 a.m. training sessions at a facility used by Filipino Olympic athletes, and even using local flag football players as a scout team to stay sharp for the upcoming season. But any leisure time that would usually be spent at beaches or with family will be redirected to highlighting the quake’s damage and amplifying the stories of affected communities.
“Through our foundation, we’ll be running multiple outreach missions to map out exactly what the affected areas need most,” Bynum said. “Right now, communities are still without power, they don’t have access to clean water after all the pipes broke in the quake. My goal is to bring more attention to the destruction that’s happened, so we can reach as many people in need as possible.”
He added that he has already been inspired by the collective response to the disaster in the Philippines. “This is a community effort, everyone is pitching in to lift each other back up,” he said. “You see people coming together through this terrible hardship, and that’s just the spirit of the Filipino people.”