Italian help arrives; GK to get P20M to build homes

CEBU, Philippines - The third batch of relief goods from the Italian government for victims of super typhoon Yolanda arrived at the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base yesterday morning aboard Saudia Arabian Air Lines.

The relief goods worth 300,000 euros (P17 million) includes tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, kitchen tools, and medicines, among others.

Alfonso Tagliaferri, first secretary and deputy head of the mission of the Italian Embassy, supervised the unloading of relief goods.

Italy’s INTERSOS  Humanitarian Organization would bring the relief goods to Tanauan in Leyte after its representatives visited and assessed the place.

Savero Ojetti of INTERSOS told reporters that they were the ones who will distribute the relief goods based on their arrangement with their government.

He said a total of two million euros (P116 million) in donations were already sent by Italy in Yolanda-hit areas.

Tagliaferri said the contributions were both in cash and in kind, with the monetary aid given through the Red Cross and the World Food Program.

A medical team of 52 doctors and nurses from Italy also landed in Tacloban City early yesterday and set up a field hospital in Tanauan, Leyte, which is one of the areas worst hit by the super typhoon.

“The field hospital will run for 30 days.  It’s completely independent in terms of food, water, and energy. We brought generators, gasoline, everything,” said Tagliaferri.

Italy, he said, would also send a “technical plane” to help in the delivery of relief goods in devastated areas for a month.

“It’s been very complicated to reach the remote areas in the first days due to debris on the road but as far as we know from the people on the ground, the situation is getting better,” he said.

Also, Tagliaferri said the Italian postal system has completely waived the fees for remittances from members of the Filipino community in Italy who want to send money to the Philippines until the end of January next year.

He said the projected savings from this move is around three million euros.

Meanwhile, Manny H. Osmeña of the Manny O. Group and Tony Meloto of Gawad Kalinga (GK) have forged a partnership for GK’s “Yolanda Rebuild Program.”

Manny O. Group, owner of Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island, pledged to donate P20 million for communities in Leyte, Samar, and northern Cebu.

The Manny O. Group committed to donate 80 percent of  its room revenue proceeds in a “special sale” for room certificates purchased between Nov. 15 to 24, 2013.

Osmeña encouraged everyone to support their rebuilding efforts by purchasing room certificates patron can use or give as gifts, as the certificates are valid until May 31, 2014.

Meloto said, “The partnership of Gawad Kalinga with Mövenpick Cebu’s Yolanda Rebuild Program is a celebration of hope – that we can rise together from the worst of calamities through miracles of solidarity.”

“After this ‘Yolanda Rebuild Program,’ we will be looking for a long-term and a sustainable solution in helping each other do our part in rebuilding the nation,” Osmeña, on the other hand, said. (FREEMAN)