Noy donates portion of salary to Children's Hour

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has agreed to donate a portion of his P65,000 net monthly salary to an Ayala-led organization that supports the UN Commission on the Rights of Children.

It was not clear how much Aquino would donate but Children’s Hour Philippines Inc. (CHPI), where his eldest sister Ballsy is honorary chair, encourages donors to give the peso equivalent of one hour of their monthly salary for a whole year.

Aquino takes home only P65,000 of his P95,000 gross monthly salary. Dividing this by 26 working days, his daily pay would be P2,500, and dividing this further by eight working hours, his hourly pay comes up to P312.50.

Multiplying P312.50 by 12 months, Aquino’s donation would come up to P3,750 for the year.

“To Children’s Hour Philippines and to all its benefactors, donating at least an hour’s worth of your salaries and earnings may seem so little, yet it has already made a big difference in the lives of Filipinos this past decade,” he said at yesterday’s benefit lunch at Makati City.

“I am grateful that you have chosen to tread the straight path with us, the path that leads to human development and ultimately to national progress. Thank you for making the world a better place, one hour at a time,” the President added.

He lauded the efforts of business tycoon Jaime Zobel de Ayala and Ambassador Bienvenido Tan – founders of CHPI – for making the organization’s funds soar from only P22 million to P181.79 million, with donor companies now numbering 1,280 from only 351.

“Your dedication and commitment to service is evident in your many achievements as of June 2010. Children’s Hour has raised more than P200 million in cash donations and has funded more than 545 projects nationwide that have benefited almost 620,000 children,” he said.

“There is no other way to effectively solve our lingering problem in education than to address the root cause of that problem through early child care and development. It will also support our efforts to achieve universal primary education – one of the Millennium Development Goals we are expected to accomplish by 2015,” he said.

Aquino said his administration would continue to support the program, just as is mother did during her presidency.

“She would have been happy to see the unity you have shown here today in the service of the less fortunate children of our country,” he said.

“Rest assured that Children’s Hour and its many worthwhile endeavors will continue to enjoy to support not just of my family but also of our administration. Thank you for capitalizing on the inherent goodness of our people,” he said.

“We welcome your efforts to expand coverage by supporting more projects in the Visayas and Mindanao regions,” he pointed out.

“This will help address the plight of underprivileged Filipino children whose limited access to their fundamental needs have led to many wasted opportunities for our country’s growth,” he said.

“Children’s Hour’s advocacies and programs are consistent with what we are doing. I urge you, therefore, to continue with your meaningful endeavors that have already significantly improved the lot of our people. But may I also ask you to see what you can do for children in the pre-school levels. Even as my administration focuses on primary and secondary education, our children need help even before they enter grade school,” Aquino said. With Aurea Calica