More aid pours in from gov’t, private corporations

MANILA, Philippines - Nearly three weeks after Super Typhoon Yolanda, government agencies and the private sector continue to generously support relief and reconstruction efforts in heavily damaged areas in the Visayas.

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board of directors approved a P50-million grant to the Department of Health for the health agency’s relief efforts in the aftermath of the storm.

The PCSO also donated generators and power treatment plants to typhoon-ravaged areas in Samar and Leyte, and released P600,000 to purchase generators for Culion and Coron in Palawan.

The PCSO has coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to provide food for the evacuees taking shelter at the tent city in Pasay City.

Earlier, the PCSO board announced that it would shoulder the hospital bills of typhoon victims presently in government hospitals and health care facilities.

This was in addition to PCSO’s initial donation of three water treatment plants for Samar, Eastern Leyte and Bohol; 3,450 sleeping mats, mosquito nets and blankets; 600 sacks of rice; and 100,000 Family Emergency Medicine kits.

The National Food Authority (NFA), meanwhile, released 510,757 bags of rice to various agencies conducting relief operations for typhoon victims.

The food agency turned over 360,508 bags of rice to DSWD; 5,464 bags to the Philippine Red Cross; 114,639 bags to affected local government units, and 29,964 bags to others involved in relief efforts.

NFA’s regional office in devastated Tacloban City was also damaged. A temporary regional office has been set up in Catbalogan, Western Samar to continue servicing NFA’s clients in the region.

As this developed, the government of Vietnam, through the Vietnam Southern Food Corp., donated $50,000 to DSWD’s relief operations.

The Las Piñas City government, on the other hand, donated P2.5 million for the rehabilitation of the heavily devastated towns of Dulag and Julita in Leyte.

Las Piñas Mayor Vergel Aguilar turned over a P1.5-million check to Dulag Mayor Manuel Que and a P1-million check to Julita Mayor Irvin Dy.

Last week, Aguilar issued a memorandum to all officials and department heads of the Las Piñas City government asking them to forgo the holding of lavish Christmas parties and donate the budget to typhoon victims in the Visayas.

The Las Piñas City government was also among the first to respond to the call for volunteers to transport typhoon survivors from Villamor Airbase to the homes of their relatives or friends in the southern part of the metropolis and neighboring provinces of Laguna and Cavite.

For its part, Schneider Electric, a global company specializing in energy management and operating in 100 countries, will launch a 250,000-euro emergency and reconstruction program in partnership with Gawad Kalinga.

For the emergency plan, the Schneider Electric Foundation will donate 70,000 euros for the food packs of 20,000 affected families. For the rebuilding plan, the company will focus its efforts on the restoration of energy access and reconstruction of technical training centers dealing with energy management.

Schneider Electric also launched an international fund-raising campaign for typhoon victims and its foundation will match the donations received.