By Leslie Aquino
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III has ordered the release of an initial P72.3 million in emergency assistance to victims of the Taal Volcano eruption.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III (Keith Bacongco / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
According to Undersecretary Renato Ebarle, head of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) employment cluster, the assistance will be in the form of emergency employment under the government internship program, where beneficiaries will be mobilized by the local government units in the rehabilitation of nine affected municipalities of Batangas.
The labor department did not give further details.
Meanwhile, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has appealed to all dioceses to help the victims of the eruption.
NASSA/Caritas Philippines, with Lipa and Imus dioceses, are currently responding to the needs of more than 20,000 families affected by the eruption.
"We are appealing to all the dioceses most importantly, and to organizations and individuals, to help the families affected by the continuing Taal Volcano eruptions," Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, the new national director of NASSA/Caritas, said in a statement.
"As per reports we are receiving, the immediate needs are water, food, face masks, towels, blankets, and medicines for acute respiratory infections.”
Bagaforo said donations may be sent to:
Bank of the Philippine Islands - Intramuros
Account Name: CBCP Caritas Filipinas Foundation, Inc.
Account Number: 4951-0071-08
In-kind donations can be delivered to the office of Lipa Archdiocesan Social Action Center at LAFORCE Building, JP Laurel Highway, Marawoy, Lipa City, Batangas.
NASSA/Caritas Philippines is the humanitarian, development, and advocacy arm of the CBCP, and the country’s representative to the global confederation of Catholic charities, Caritas Internationalis.