Poe continues relief ops, prepares for future typhoons

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Grace Poe yesterday met with her team leaders to coordinate the transport of about 3,000 food packs from Manila for victims of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine in Camarinas Norte.

FPJ Panday Bayanihan party-list first nominee Brian Poe-Llamanzares said the senator instructed him to ensure the continuity of their relief operation to help communities get back on their feet.

Poe-Llamanzares said the party-list has been conducting similar operations since Kristine made landfall last week.

He said the party-list prioritized supporting its local youth leaders who distributed hundreds of food packs and hot meals in Batangas, Camarinas Sur and Laguna.

The group also aims to help victims of Kristine in the National Capital Region, particularly in Caloocan, Manila and Quezon City.

Poe-Llamanzares said the organization received reports from their youth leaders across Luzon and opted to support them as they conduct localized relief operations.

“I’m very proud of our youth volunteers. All the credit goes to our brave volunteers. They know the situation on the ground better than us. Thankfully, we were able to source funding in Manila for their local volunteer operations,” Poe-Llamanzares said.

He praised the Kabataan sa Kartilya ng Katipunan in Laguna and the San Isidro Youth Group in Camarinas Sur as well as FPJ Panday Bayanihan second nominee Mark Patron in Batangas.

“Since 2013 we’ve been supporting relief operations across the country. I’m so happy to see our youth leaders stepping up to support our fellow Filipinos. This is the exact spirit of bayanihan that we wish to encourage,” he said.

Although the storm has passed, he said the FPJ Panday Bayanihan party-list is still conducting relief operations and preparing for future calamities.

Poe-Llamanzares reminded volunteers of the party-list that there would be more typhoons to come and it would be best to try and prepare in advance so they can help more people.