So what's the #ALSIceBucketChallenge all about?

From netizens to pop stars to sports heroes to billionaires to local personalities - everyone on the planet seems not to mind getting drenched lately, thanks to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, or #ALSIceBucketChallenge, on social media that has fired up the Internet.

Sure, it does look fun and it gives fans a peek into their favorite stars' funny side. But what is this really all about?

How it started

The ice bucket challenge started out as an ordinary social media activity, where people share videos of themselves getting drenched in a bucket of water.

To keep the chain going, they will tag their friends who must do the challenge within 24 hours or else they must donate to a chosen charity.

This kept going on until the former captain of the Boston College baseball team joined in.

Peter Frates, 29, is an ALS patient. He asked his family and friends to do the Ice Bucket Challenge or else, they must donate to ALS research. Given Frates' network, the challenge spread all over the Boston area and the world.

'ALS is a glass coffin'

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called "Lou Gehrig's Disease" is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, according to the ALS Association.

Lou Gehrig was a Hall of Fame first baseman for the New York Yankees in the 1920s and 1930s. He was diagnosed with ALS in 1939, and died of the disease in 1941.

With ALS, the motor neurons degenerate until they eventually die. When this happens, the brain loses its ability to control the muscles. Since voluntary muscle action is affected, patients with ALS eventually become totally paralyzed.

"Glass coffin: That’s ALS in a nutshell," wrote Ron Schaffer, a 67-year-old ALS patient who communicates through a speech app on an iPad.

According to the ALS Assocation, there are around 5,600 people in the US who are diagnosed with ALS each year.

ALS can happen to two in every 100,000 people. It occurs globally and can affect any ethnicity.

ALS in the Philippines

ALS Philippines is a Facebook page that Leonard Mallari set up when he found that his aunt Liza Quiambao was diagnosed with ALS in April 2012.

He was looking for an association or a support group in the Philippines, but found none. After reaching out to international organizations, he was advised to start a page to help others who may be in the same position as him.

Liza's journey began around April 2011, Leonard said. The family thought she had a mild stroke. She developed weakness in her lower extremities and had to use crutches to walk. She then started to have therapy.

In January 2012, Liza started to feel the weakness and numbness climbing to her upper extremities. She started to have difficulty breathing and swallowing. In April 2012, she was diagnosed with ALS in Manila. The doctor said she only had two years to live.

Liza recently celebrated her birthday. She can no longer move on her own. She can no longer talk or eat solid food. She can no longer sit straight or lift her head. But her brain and all other senses are still intact. Simply put, it's like being imprisoned, and your own body is your cell. Your bones and muscles are the iron bars.

Through the Facebook page he set up, Leonard found out that there are many Filipinos suffering from ALS.

Relatives of those affected by the disease have contacted the Facebook page he set up, hoping to find a support group. They are also encouraging families with relatives with ALS to share their experiences through the Facebook page.

Leonard, along with the others who are going through the same journey, is thankful that the #ALSIceBucketChallenge has gained so much attention that finally, the disease that not a lot of people know about is taking the spotlight.

In a tweet, Department of Health assistant secretary Eric Tayag said the agency has no data on ALS in the Philippines. 

Looking for a cure

As of August 18, the ALS Association, the only national non-profit organization fighting to find a cure for the disease in the United States, reported that it has received $15.6 million in donations from July 29 to August 18. In the same period last year, the association only received US$1.8 million.

All of the money will go to the association's research, care services, public education, and public policy on the disease, a big step up.

A report from the National Institutes of Health showed that ALS only got US$40 million both in 2014 and 2015 for research funding.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge not only provided a few laughs and left Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Cristiano Ronaldo, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Tom Hiddleston, Jeric Teng, and hundreds of personalities and netizens all over the world drenched in a bucket of cold water.

It is also raising awareness and funds to help strike out Lou Gehrig's Disease. — JDS, GMA News