Philippine Red Cross: Always first, ready and there

I knew very little about the work of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) until I asked to meet its chair Richard Gordon at the organization’s headquarters at the Port Area, Manila. I thought all it did was ask people to volunteer blood, extract it, and ready it for use by patients. Now I know better.

PRC’s services did involve only  providing blood and in disaster-related activities in the past. Now it focuses on a holistic approach to uplifting the condition of the most vulnerable. Offering only short-term palliatives before, it now offers a wider area of humanitarian services ranging  from  preventive medicine, therapeutic counseling to youth leadership.

At present, Gordon told me, the PRC provides six major services: blood services, disaster management, safety services, community health and nursing, social services and the volunteer service. All of these, he said, embody the fundamental principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence,  voluntary service, unity and universality. “These values guide and inspire all Red Cross staff and volunteers, to whom being a Red Crosser is more than just a philosophy but a way of life.”

PRC has built 59,000 homes and school buildings in disaster-stricken areas. It offers livelihood training and teaches pupils to wash their hands as a habit.

An example of PRC services was evident during the visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines. At the Quirino grandstand, Red Cross staff and volunteers attended to 2,018 people taken to its health and first aid stations and emergency hospitals. According to operation reports, 753 patients had their blood pressure checked, 580 had minor emergency cases, 169 were seen for major medical emergencies, 36 were transported by ambulances to nearby hospitals, and 480 people needed welfare support. Major emergency cases ranged from difficulty of breathing, hypotension, hypertension, chest pain, asthma, hypothermia, burn, heart attack, body stiffness, vomiting, epilepsy attack, and injuries resulting from fall from high structures. A mentally ill patient was transported to a mental institution in Quezon City, while another patient was revived after losing consciousness and heartbeat. PRC also assisted 499 people who needed stress debriefing, guidance and counseling and contact of relatives of missing persons.

For the entire papal visit,  PRC  put up six emergency field hospitals, first aid stations in various strategic locations and deployed 40 ambulances, eight Humvees, three  ten-wheeler trucks, two  water tankers, two fire trucks, four plastic boats, radios, and satellite phones.

It’s been a long way since Henry  Dunant, a Swiss and four businessmen, set up in  Geneva in 1863  the International Committee of the Red Cross. This gave rise to the formation of National Red Cross societies and the Red Crescent Society (in Arab countries).

The Philippine Red Cross was officially  born in 1947, with roots  traced back to the revolutionary days. In-house literature describes the PRC’s 64 years of existence as intended to help the poorest of the poor and staffed by professionally trained and truly compassionate men and women ready to lend a helping hand to those in need – whatever their political, racial, and religious persuasions.     

PRC was one of the very first agencies to rush to Tacloban to help Yolanda typhoon-victims.

Learning from the lesson of Yolanda, Gordon initiated the construction of a regional disaster management and logistics warehouse in Subic Bay, Freeport zone. The facility provides space for heavy equipment such as a water tanker and payloader, trucks and light vehicles and tents ready for use in emergency situations in the country. Staff and volunteers are trained for capacity building such as logistics management, and disaster response.  

The latest project is the establishment of an P88-million regional disaster management, logistics hub and training center in Passi City in Western Visayas which would serve the whole Panay Island. The project is made possible by support from the Korean Red Cross.

Volunteers account for the success of  Red Cross societies. There are around 500,000 volunteers in the country, 45 percent of them youths. They, are on call 24 hours a day, rushing to emergency situations to help care for patients.

PRC secretary general Gwendolyn Pang is grateful for the enthusiasm of volunteers (who are only given food), saying, “May the spirit of volunteerism continue to flow within us in the coming weeks and months.”

Born and existing to help people in need, PRC quickly responds to conflict situations. A Red Cross team from the Zamboanga chapter quickly motored  to the scene of a bomb blast in Guiwan, Zamboanga City after an explosive device went off and killed one person and injured 52 more on Jan. 23. The chapter set up a first aid station in the blast area to help treat those who suffered injuries. The chapter also dispatched two ambulances which transported 12 of the injured in different hospitals in the city.

The Red Cross Movement composed of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) expressed great concern regarding the recent bloody encounter between the Philippine Special Action Force (SAP)  that claimed  64 lives on the side of the government and five from the  MILF.

A team from the PRC Cotabato chapter is already on standby to assist and assess the situation and needs of everyone. Aside from delivering blood, the PRC is also preparing relief efforts for those who are affected by the recent incident.

The PRC is a non-government organization and survives through donations from international organizations, local individuals and revenue-raising projects. One project is an annual fun run where participants pay a certain amount to participate in. Money earned is spent on  the salaries of staff, operational expenses and equipment such as  x-ray and blood-defining machines, fire trucks and payloaders, ambulances, rescue boats and Humvees. PRC, Dick said, is the only one with such expensive equipment.

To maintain its operations, the Olongapo chapter housed in four stories rents out spaces on the ground floor for revenue. Other chapters are doing the same thing.

A multi-story Red Cross building on EDSA-Boni avenue is nearing completion, with funds coming from the sale of real property. The executive office will move to the new structure, and the old headquarters at the Port Area will retain its blood service, which features the most modern laboratory equipment. Dick proudly says, because of the PRC’s excellent record, it has been awarded the ISO status.

PRC  now has 86  chapters and 16 sub chapters with a total of 102. There are also 45 branches which are supervised by the chapters. Each chapter raises its own funds for projects and salaries.  

Because of Gordon’s good track record, foreign governments and organizations readily give financial and material support for Red Cross projects.

If the Philippine Red Cross is hailed as one of the best in the world, it’s on account of the dynamic leadership and management skill of Chairman Dick Gordon, 60, who lives the Red Cross song: “The Red cross then and tomorrow, always first, always ready, always there.”  

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