Bulig Sendong launched

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  – The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council and the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Region 6 launched the other day “Bulig Sendong,” a massive relief campaign for typhoon victims in Mindanao.

DSWD-6 director Minda Brigoli, who is vice-chairperson of the RDRRMC, said the needs of the victims are “so grandiose” and the government alone cannot provide them all.

“We call on our brothers to help us out kasi di kaya lahat ng government,” she said, adding that although several batches of assistance were already sent to the affected areas, still these were not enough.

Brigoli said there were around 13,000 families in the different evacuation centers and the assistance given was only good for around 4,000 families.

The victims need are basic necessities to survive such as food and potable water, clothes, pillows, blankets and even toothbrushes and soaps, she said as she called on all Ilonggos for help by donating, in cash or in kind, to the victims of Sendong in Mindanao.

She clarified that the ‘Bulig Sendong’ (‘bulig’ is an Ilonggo term for help) was not a “late reaction” because, even before it was launched, the DSWD-6 already had its own campaign to raise assistance for the victims. The employees of the DSWD-6 even cancelled their “monito monita” and decided to donate the P200 amount, supposedly for their exchanging gifts, to the victims instead, said Brigoli.

Office of Civil Defense regional director and RDRRMC chairperson Rose Cabrera, for her part, thanked all local government units that immediately used part of their calamity funds for assistance to the flooding victims in Mindanao and Negros Oriental.

Iloilo province set aside P1.2 million from its Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council funds, while the Bacolod City government donated P1 million and the Iloilo City government, P200,000, said Cabrera. “We are calling on other Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils to spare part of their funds for assistance,” she said.

Brigoli further appealed for volunteers that would be needed later on for the stress de-briefing of the victims, especially of children to erase the trauma that the disaster caused them. —(FREEMAN)