Donations pour in from Los Baños science community

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines - – Donations for victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda continue to pour in from member-institutions of the Los Baños Science Community (LBSC).

The LBSC groups together with 23 international, regional, and national universities and colleges and research and development (R&D) institutions based in this globally known university town.

The contributions are both personal and institutional, according to STAR interviews with officials of the LBSC entities.

For instance, staffers of the LBSC institutions have personally donated either cash or non-perishable and dry goods such as clothing, blankets, canned goods, biscuits, and mats.

Organizations abroad, which are undertaking joint programs and projects with the LBSC institutions, have also expressed their intention to send assistance to the typhoon victims through these entities.

Post-typhoon assistance includes programs being planned by the LBSC institutions to assist the calamity victims.

For instance, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) looks forward to recommending, in tandem with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the planting of flood- and salt-tolerant rice varieties in typhoon-ravaged farming areas in Central Philippines.

On their own, IRRI staff members have given food and clothing to the typhoon victims.

Also being eyed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB) is the rehabilitation of mangrove areas in coastal places devastated by Yolanda.

Other LBSC members that have come to the assistance of the typhoon victims include the University of the Philippines Los Baños, the UPLB-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), and the Los Baños municipal government headed by Mayor Caesar Perez.

Meanwhile, a “fun run” whose proceeds will be donated to the typhoon victims is set at the UPLB complex on Sunday.

The sports event will be sponsored by DA-PhilRice, UPLB, IRRI, PCAARRD, DA, Chris Sports, Pioneer, and Bayer.

Some 1,000 runners from government and private agencies, schools, and the public are expected to join the event.