Int’l community starts pitching in

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign relief aid has begun pouring in for victims of the second devastating storm to hit Mindanao in a year.

Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand and the United States committed millions in financial assistance to typhoon victims while Japan promised to provide aid.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon offered condolences to the Philippine government and the Filipino people for the loss of lives and damage to property as a result of typhoon “Pablo” (international name Bopha).

“The United Nations stands ready to provide humanitarian assistance and to mobilize international support for the response,” Ban said.

Australia will provide up to P210 million (A$5 million) in life-saving and early recovery assistance to the victims.

“On behalf of the Australian government and people, I extend heartfelt sympathies for the loss of lives and destruction resulting from this devastating typhoon,” said Australian embassy Charge d’affaires Andrew Byrne. 

Of the P210 million offered, Australia will immediately make available P38.5 million (A$900,000) to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) for emergency family kits, which include sleeping mats, mosquito nets and water containers, and another P43 million (A$1 million) to the World Food Program for 1,000 tons of rice.

Australia will also make available P4 million (A$100,000) through the United Nations Population Fund for hygiene and health kits for people in evacuation centers. The remaining P126 million (A$3 million) will be made available for additional recovery and relief needs.

Australia’s total annual aid to the Philippines is approximately P5.5 billion, placing it among the Philippines’ top grant donors.

Canada announced that it was providing Cad$250,000 (P10 million) to help the typhoon victims.

The Canadian government, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), is providing the amount to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support the PRC in its efforts to address the emergency needs of some 50,000 victims. 

A United Nations disaster and assessment team, which includes a Canadian delegate whose deployment is funded through an ongoing CIDA project, is providing direct support with the rapid needs assessments.

Chinese embassy spokesman Zhang Hua, in behalf of his government, expressed condolences and sympathies to the victims and the families. He said the Red Cross Society of China has donated $30,000 to its Philippine counterpart. 

New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully announced that the country will provide $500,000 to the International Federation of the Red Cross Appeal to help those most in need.

McCully said New Zealand’s funding will be made immediately available for essential relief items such as food, clean water and shelter. 

The United States is providing $100,000 to Catholic Relief Services to support disaster relief efforts in affected areas, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

US embassy Charge d’affaires Brian Goldbeck, after consulting with the Philippine government on Wednesday, offered to provide immediate relief assistance following reports of widespread destruction due to Pablo. 

Teams from USAID’s Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and USAID/Philippines will conduct humanitarian assessments in typhoon-affected areas, including Davao and Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, Negros Oriental in the Visayas, and Palawan in Luzon to determine where assistance is most needed. 

With the initial $100,000, USAID will have provided approximately $11.7 million in disaster response assistance over the past five years.

In 2012, USAID/OFDA provided over $4.1 million for disaster risk reduction activities in the Philippines.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda sent on Wednesday a message of sympathy to President Aquino, while Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba expressed his condolences to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.

French President Franois Hollande also expressed condolences for the loss of lives and property.

Cuisia appeals for more donations

The Philippine embassy in Washington appealed to individuals and organizations in the US who would like to assist in the relief efforts to send their cash donations to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Department of Social Welfare and Development and the PRC. 

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. also asked guests attending a function of the World Cacao Foundation (WCF) at the embassy on Thursday to offer a minute of silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the disaster.

“Our people are grateful for the assistance extended by the United States to help us respond to the aftermath of typhoon Pablo in the southern Philippines,” Cuisia said.  

PCSO mobilizes provincial offices

Meanwhile, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has mobilized its provincial offices in affected areas in Mindanao to provide medical assistance to victims of the calamity.

General manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said PCSO medical teams were coordinating with government hospitals and evacuation centers to assess the medical needs of the evacuees.

Rojas said the PCSO’s charity activities have helped a total of 115,281 patients and 162,215 cases were served, 95 medical-dental missions were conducted and a total of 316 medicine donation programs were held last year.

PCSO chair Margarita Juico said 228 ambulance units were given to various local government units and institutions.

She said that of the 10 fully equipped mobile clinic units acquired by the agency, six were donated to institutions in Benguet, Bicol, Zamboanga, Roxas City, Cotabato City, and Cagayan. 

Two units are still for donation, while the remaining two are used by the PCSO on their off-site medical missions in various urban and rural areas. – Pia Lee-Brago, Perseus Echeminada, Cet Dematera, Raymund Catindig, Joseph Lariosa, Evelyn Macairan