Nolcom soldiers help raise funds for Zambo, Bohol

MANILA, Philippines - Soldiers in Northern Luzon are making furniture to help raise funds for the rehabilitation of Zamboanga City and the quake-damaged province of Bohol.

The pieces of furniture are made out of trees felled by Typhoon Santi, according to Maj. Emmanuel Garcia, chief of the Armed Forces 1st Civil Relations Group.

“The pieces of furniture such as sala sets, dining tables, cabinets and television racks will be handcrafted by soldiers inside the Camp Sevillano Aquino in Tarlac,” Garcia said.

Parts of Zamboanga City were ruined in the three-week siege launched by members of the Moro National Liberation Front in September.

In Bohol, several buildings, including centuries-old churches, were damaged in the magnitude 7.2 quake last Oct. 15.

The Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) itself suffered damage when Typhoon Santi devastated Central Luzon last month. At least P46 million worth of properties in Camp Sevillano Aquino in Tarlac and Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, two of the major camps of the military, were destroyed in the calamity.  

Hundreds of trees such as mahogany, acacia, falcatta and gemelina were uprooted by the storm.

The Nolcom soldiers viewed the disaster as an opportunity to help others in need.

“The fund-raising activity will show solidarity among us who have been equally devastated by natural and man-made disasters,” Nolcom chief Maj. Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said.

The command aims to finish 1,000 sets of furniture by the second week of December in time for the “Bagsak Presyo Sale, Help for Zambo and Bohol” bazaar on Dec. 16.

“The proceeds will be divided equally to officials of Zamboanga City and Bohol as soon as the sets of furniture are sold,” Garcia said.