Canadian relief aid reaches P120 M

MANILA, Philippines - The Canadian government’s total relief assistance to typhoon-ravaged areas in Mindanao has reached P120 million after it announced yesterday that it would be giving an additional P40 million in response to the increasing needs of the victims of “Pablo.”

Julian Fantino, minister of International Cooperation, said Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), is providing additional humanitarian assistance for the calamity victims.

“We are helping families survive by providing critical humanitarian assistance to the victims,” Fantino said in a statement.

Canada, through CIDA, is also helping deliver humanitarian assistance from United Nations-World Food Program (UN-WFP), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), and the International Organization for Migration, to approximately 480,000 people in typhoon-ravaged areas.

The Canadian government said it would continue to monitor the situation to ensure humanitarian needs are met and further assistance, if required, is provided.

 Last Dec. 6, Canada provided $250,000 to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support the Philippine Red Cross in helping some 50,000 people affected by the typhoon. To date, it has allocated $2 million to address the emergency needs of the victims.

Loan assistance for farmers

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is set to provide loan assistance for farmers affected by Pablo.

DAR Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes said the loan assistance would be made available as soon as possible for farmers in Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental, and Agusan del Sur.

“We don’t have relief goods to give but we are here to assist in providing production loan to the farmers to help them recover at the soonest time possible,” Delos Reyes said.

During a meeting, the farmers asked Delos Reyes to give them five to seven years moratorium on payment of CARP (comprehensive agrarian reform program) lands, for it would take some time before their farms would become productive again.

Delos Reyes assured the farmers he would take the matter up with the LandBank of the Philippines (LBP) and come up with the guidelines on the moratorium.

Damage to schools hits P1 B

The Department of Education (DepEd) said yesterday that the amount of damage brought by Pablo to public schools in Mindanao, particularly in Regions 11 and 13, has reached P1 billion.

The DepEd Communications Unit, however, said rehabilitation and repairs of damaged classrooms is now underway.

It said some 800 and 335 classrooms were totally and partially damage, respectively.

Earlier, DepEd sent 56 huge tents to typhoon-ravaged areas that would serve as mobile classrooms when classes resume on Jan. 3.

Recently, DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro turned over to officials of affected regions the P4-million donation from Philippines Response to Indigenous Peoples’ and Muslim Education (PRIME).

P1-M text donations

Businessman Manuel Pangilinan said yesterday that donations of load credits via text continued to pour in more than two weeks after it was mobilized last Dec. 11 through the “Tulong Kapatid Telethon.”

Pangilinan said over a million pesos have been raised from both Smart and Sun mobile subscribers who made donations in P5, P10, P20, P25, P50, P100 and P1,000 denominations for the typhoon victims.

“It’s already well-documented how pledges of donations rushed in from big corporations and established organizations. Silently, anonymously, urgently, and instantly, mobile subscribers have been giving off their precious load credits to raise more than P1 million for the displaced residents,” Pangilinan said.

“Now that is very special, coming from people from all walks of life, whose donations, I know, of P5, P10, or P20 equally came without hesitation, and truly from the heart,” he added.

By simply typing TULONG <amount> and sending it to 4483, cellphone load amounts were instantly donated by subscribers for use in the relief and rehabilitation of storm-ravaged areas.

Tulong Kapatid transformed the studios of TV-5, and the offices Meralco and PLDT, into relief centers accepting donations in cash and in kind. The target of P100 million was reached well before midnight of Dec. 11, the closing time of the six-hour telethon. – Marvin Sy, Perseus Echeminada, Edith Regalado, Alexis Romero, Rainer Allan Ronda