Dear friends and colleagues,
Greetings of peace! As a response to the urgent needs of our kababayans stricken by typhoons Yolanda and Santi, and the recent earthquake in the Philippines, we are soliciting financial and relief support for them.
The 7.2 magnitude earthquake has devastated more than 3 million people in the provinces of Bohol, Cebu and Siquijor and has claimed the lives of nearly 200 individuals in the area. With livelihood and homes shattered, earthquake victims are in need of our help to provide relief and rebuild their communities. Santi, on the other hand, swept vast farm lands in Central Luzon. In four barangays in Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac alone, an estimate of 27M worth rice crops and homes were destroyed.
Yolanda has claimed 151 lives in Eastern Visayas, according to the Phil. National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, while disaster aid groups have estimated the death toll at around 1,200. Karapatan chapters in the regions together with other people’s organizations are conducting relief drives and missions to communities most devastated by the typhoons and earthquake.
Any amount that will be collected will be sent to them to buy potable water, ready-to-eat food and materials for reconstruction of their homes and sources of livelihood.
We will likewise be conducting a fundraising event entitled “Ukay-ukay for Human Rights” on November 14-15, 2013 for the benefit of the typhoon and earthquake victims, which you can support by either donating your pre-loved items or by patronizing the products that will be sold during the event.
We at the Karapatan-National Office are asking for your immediate support to extend financial help for the victims of the earthquake. You can send it through:
For US dollars:
Account Name: Karapatan
Account Number: 186-2-18600268-1
Bank: Metrobank, Kalayaan Avenue Branch, Quezon City, Philippines
IBAN: MBTCPHMM
For Philippine Peso:
Account Name: Karapatan
Account Number: 186-3-18618361-5
Bank: Metrobank, Kalayaan Avenue Branch, Quezon City, Philippines
Or through (Paypal, Western Union, or other money transfers): You can contact Ms. Ghay Portajada through numbers +632 4354146 or 0917-8299202 and through email at [email protected] for your donations.
In times of crisis such as this, we are all called upon to respond to the immediate needs of our brothers and sisters. Thank you for your relentless support.
Sincerely,
Cristina “Tinay” Palabay
Secretary General
—
KARAPATAN National Office
2/F Erythrina Building #1 Maaralin cor. Matatag Sts., Central District,
1100 Quezon City
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Telefax: +632.4354146
Web Site: http://www.karapatan.org
From Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN or New Patriotic Alliance)
November 11, 2013
Reference: Renato M. Reyes, Jr. Secretary General
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan calls on all its chapters and member organizations in the Philippines and abroad to undertake mass mobilization for relief efforts for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). We call on unions, employees’ associations, student organizations, community organizations and the general public to contribute to the efforts to help the communities ravaged by Yolanda. Through the Bayanihan Alay sa Sambayanan or BALSA, we are currently receiving cash and donations in kind intended for the victims of the typhoon.
The strongest storm to make landfall this year, and perhaps the most powerful in recorded history, may have claimed up to 10,000 lives according to some estimates. The storm cut a swath of destruction throughout the Visayas region in the Philippines, affecting as many as 4 million people across 36 provinces.
Many areas in the Eastern Visayas region remain without food, water, power and communications facilities. Entire communities have been levelled by the storm. Looting has been reported by the media. Worst hit were the coastal communities. The first area hit by the storm, Guiuan, Eastern Samar have initially reported as many as 300 dead. Relief workers are also trying to reach rural communities also believed to be devastated by the strong winds and the storm surge.
The situation of the people is made even more difficult by the backward socio-economic conditions in these provinces. The worst hit region, Eastern Visayas, ranks the third poorest region in the Philippines as of 2013. Of all the regions in the country, it alone posted negative growth in 2012 according to the National Statistical Coordinating Board. It registered the highest incidence of families experiencing hunger according to a 2011 government survey. Most vulnerable to the effects of the storm are the peasants and fisherfolk who live under conditions of poverty and underdevelopment. We fear for the situation of many villages near mountain areas which are also vulnerable due to the effects of large-scale mining and logging operations.
Another region hit, the Western Visayas, has a poverty incidence of 24.7% as of 2012 and an unemployment and underemployment rate of 27.8%. The region has reeled from slumping agriculture and fisheries. The impact of the storm will again take the greatest toll on the peasants and fisherfolk in the region.
Years of systemic fund misuse, as shown by the corruption in the pork barrel system, has further aggravated poverty in these regions. Those in power who are perpetuating the status quo are thus also liable for the dismal situation of the people in these regions.
At this point, government should prioritize relief and rehabilitation efforts for the victims of the typhoon. Funds should be channelled directly to relief and rehab, primarily food and water, health care and shelter in the immediate, as well as livelihood and rebuilding of communities in the medium term. Government funding, such as those used for debt servicing or items that are considered part of the corrupt pork barrel system, should instead be used for the needs of the typhoon victims. We definitely take exception to the use of public funds for the promotion of narrow political interests at a time of severe crisis. Lastly, government should heed the people’s demands for social justice such as genuine land reform and an end to destructive mining and logging operations in these regions. Unless true economic development is undertaken in these regions, the vast majority of the population will continue to be increasingly vulnerable to the effects of calamities both natural and man-made.
We call on the people to join the International Day of Solidarity for the Victims of Yolanda on November 13 by holding assemblies, discussions and mobilizing people to contribute to relief efforts. ###
– See more at: http://www.bayan.ph/site/2013/11/bayan-calls-for-mass-mobilization-for-relief-efforts-for-typhoon-yolanda-victims/#sthash.fu7KevL5.dpuf
From the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines
RURAL MISSIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES
A Mission Partner of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines
# 6 K-JJ Street, East Kamias , Quezon City Tel # 961- 5094
E-mail: [email protected]
November 11, 2013
Angie Gonzales
International Coordinating Committee
for Human Rights in the Philippines
Greetings in the Lord!
On account of the calamities that hit our country one after another: a strong typhoon that hit Central Luzon in late September, followed by an earthquake that badly hit Cebu & Bohol in October and now (November 8) the super typhoon “Yolanda” (international name Haiyan) devastated Eastern Visayas, particularly Leyte and Samar including other provinces. We at the RMP national office received reports of the extent of damage, on how the poor suffer with whom we have been journeying with in the past four decades. We are present in all the provinces affected by the typhoon.
The storm surge went as high as 15 feet, causing flash floods in several low lying areas, affecting ten (10) regions, 44 provinces, 38 cities, 201 municipalities and 934 baranggays. Partial report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) as of Nov. 8 statistics shows: 500 people dead in Tacloban City Leyte alone, 55 from Eastern Samar, 5 from Iloilo, 4 from Coron, Palawan, 905,353 affected families, equivalent to 4,031,104 persons, with several persons injured and many are still missing.
In view of this, RMP would like to appeal for assistance, badly needed are : food items (noodles, canned goods, rice) medicines , clothing, bed sheets, kitchen utensils, slippers, mats, etc. We are currently asking for donations from different religious congregations, organizations, institutions and individuals by whatever means you can afford. You may also course your donation by depositing to our bank account name : Rural Missionaries of the Philippines at Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Kamuning Branch Euro account # 3144032488.
If possible, we would like to invite you or a representative to come with us to the province on your available dates for the medical mission or relief distribution to become a witness to the condition of the poor typhoon victims. Your positive response would mean so much for our less-privileged brothers and sisters. Thank you very much.
Sincerely in Christ,
(sgd) Sr.M. Francis Añover,RSM
National Coordinator
