Yolanda donations for sale?

CEBU, Philippines - Are some donations for Yolanda survivors for sale?

This is what fisherfolk in Asturias town want to know after some of them received fishing materials with the logo of humanitarian groups.

The problem, like what the father of Janine Tampos would realize, is that the fishing materials were the equivalent of the P12,000 loan he availed of reportedly from the municipal government.

Tampos told The Freeman that her father was among the fishermen in the town who were made to register for the said P12,000 worth of loan reportedly funded by the Department of Labor and Employment.

The fishermen who showed interest to avail of the loan were then asked to list the items they need since the loan reportedly could not be released in cash, but rather in the form of fishing materials.

“They were gathered in a meeting and informed that the budget for the loan was from DOLE and they should pay it by 2016,” Tampos said.

On October 20, her father reportedly received 30 kilos of “tingga”, a “pataw or buoy”, and the fishnet with the pack bearing the logo of the humanitarian group, Tampos said, quoting her father as saying.

“Ang fishnet ray naa sa original pack and the other materials kay gi-plastic ra kay gi-kilo-kilo na man,” she said in a message to The Freeman.

This was reportedly the first time that Janine’s father availed of the loan since he was not offered such before. He has not used the materials yet.

Tampos said her family never had the courage to air the matter to the concerned agencies because of fear that they might be put at risk.

“You can ask other villages here like barangay Sta. Lucia and barangay Langub, they(fishermen) got the same. Gigamit na sa uban ang ilang nadawat. Naa pa ang proof diri sa house, afraid silang mama kontrahan diri sa amoa,” she said.

The concern remained unreported until Tampos posted the photos of the pack of fishing net on her Facebook account, which caught the attention of social media users who shared her post.

Tampos, a nurse, said she learned about the issue only after her father showed her the fishing materials when she arrived home for Christmas.

“Karon ra man sad ko nauli sa balay since September so karon pa ko kakita ani. Wa ko kauyon,” she said.

Sought for comment, Asturias Mayor Alan Adlawan said he has yet to look into the matter today but said the municipality has no hold over the loan.

“I will check it. Pero wa man na miagi diri sa amoa,” he told The Freeman.  (FREEMAN)