By JAMES A. LOYOLA
BDO Unibank's remittance office in Barcelona, Spain has organized a donation drive for the benefit of victims of the Taal eruption by putting up drop-off boxes for Filipinos who want to donate in kind.
In a statement, BDO said these donation boxes will then be delivered to BDO's corporate social responsibility arm, BDO Foundation, in the Philippines for distribution to the affected areas.
Filipinos living in Barcelona are mostly from Batangas and Cavite, areas that continue to bear the brunt of the volcanic eruption.
Officers and staff of BDO Remit Spain have also visited Filipino communities in Barcelona including Filipino Asian stores, restaurants, medical providers, clinics, freight forwarders, travel agencies and grocery stores to promote their donation campaign.
The St. Agustin Parish in Barcelona has likewise utilized the parish community to spread the word on the said charitable efforts.
They posted BDO Remit's materials about the donation drive within church premises and regularly announced during the Sunday mass that drop-off donation boxes were put up.
"We have already filled up the first box of donations and is now on our second box. More people are now donating and sending as a result of our info drive," said Gerard Ian M. Belarmino, marketing officer in BDO Remit Spain.
He added that, "We are receiving positive responses from our Kabayans for our efforts especially the waived fees for those who want to donate anonymously. Filipino community leaders are also grateful to us for accepting coin donations to be remitted to the Philippines."
Local banks in Spain charge commissions for coin transactions. By remitting this through BDO instead, every Euro cent would be sent to the Taal victims. These coin donations have totaled 700 Euros to date.
Last January 14, BDO waived its remittance fees on cash donations sent through the different BDO Remit offices abroad for the victims of the Mt. Taal eruption. This campaign runs up to March 31, 2020.