Gov’t launches new website for Yolanda foreign donations

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang launched yesterday Version 2.0 of the government portal Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (FAiTH) detailing an updated list of foreign donations for victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

“These are all part of our commitment to the Open Government Partnership, also our commitment, our reform measure and open data where we upload government data in a form that is searchable, accessible and understandable,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

The donations have already reached P34 billion.

The amount was a P9-billion increase from the P25 billion in donations and pledges given last March, for purposes of helping the national and affected local governments in the recovery and rehabilitation of areas damaged by the storm.

Lacierda told a briefing that they will base their reports on the updates provided by the embassies who have pitched in and to which agencies their donations went in the global effort to help the victims of the world’s strongest typhoon get back on their feet.

FAiTH allows the public to monitor foreign assistance to the country in response to calamities. The portal, which can be accessed at www.gov.ph/faith , shows comprehensive information on humanitarian aid.

Of the P34-billion pledge, cash is a little over P11 billion and non-cash is nearly P3 billion.

“And the amount received is a little less than P15 billion and these are reported by the agencies: the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health (DOH), the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, and Filipino communities or individuals,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda explained the improvements made in FAiTH 2.0 from its initial launch were that 64 countries and seven multilateral organizations can now have access to its content management system.

“With each embassy or organization now possessing a unique account username and password, they now have the ability to input or update their country or organization’s cash and non-cash pledges,” he said.

FAiTH Version 2.0 will also record assistance pledged or given by private, foreign non-government organizations made to the Philippines, so long as this assistance has been officially communicated to the Department of Foreign Affairs through a note verbale.

Lacierda said version 2.0 of the website will now make available the information on where the foreign donations went, which was unavailable in the first version of the government portal.

The initial launch of FAiTH Version 1.0 consisted only of recording foreign aid and assistance given to the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, whether these were in the form of pledges or actual cash and non-cash donations.

In the second version, however, information was provided if the pledges have been converted into cash or not, and where the assistance went, to which agency of government, or whether to a national agency or local government unit.

The DOH said the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has donated 1.4 billion yen or P700 million for rehabilitation of health facilities in areas devastated by Yolanda.

“The DOH is grateful for the help extended by JICA. We believe that this partnership will result in rural health units and an Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) that will be built back better able to withstand catastrophes like Yolanda and sustain services even during such catastrophes,” Health Secretary Enrique Ona said.  – With Sheila Crisostomo, Cecille Suerte Felipe