Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sen. Dick Gordon was not able to push through with his scheduled visit to Bohol Province on Thursday, Jan. 6 but still tasked the organization to carry on with its "all out" response with the distribution of food and non-food items to families and other humanitarian interventions for residents greatly affected by Typhoon Odette.
PRC said that Gordon announced was not be able to attend the scheduled relief distribution in Ubay, Bohol because of safety measures as the pilot tested positive for COVID-19 before departure. On Jan. 2, Gordon was not able to attend the cash distribution due to the inclement weather in the province.
Despite this, PRC said that Gordon directed PRC staff to push through with the relief distribution so that 315 of the most vulnerable families in the area are given much-needed relief.
Gordon together with Bohol Governor Arthur Yap attended the event virtually. PRC said that each family received two tarpaulins and shelter tool kits to provide temporary shelters and help them recover from the damage brought by Typhoon Odette.
“Gustong gusto ko pumunta sa Bohol upang makita ko ng personal at maassess ang iba pang pangangailangan ng mga naapektuhan upang matulungan sila makatayo sa sariling mga paa. Hindi na bago sa akin ang mga bagyo dahil sa 53 years ko bilang volunteer ay marami na akong disaster na nadaanan at kaya dinamihan natin ang kagamitan sa Red Cross para mabilis ang ating response (I really wanted to head to Bohol to witness personally and assess the needs of the affected residents and help them get back on their feet. Typhoons are no stranger to me in my 53 years as a volunteer I encountered a lot of disasters that's why we increased PRC's equipments)," he said.
"Sa pag hagupit ng bagyong Odette, agad natin ibinuhay ang mga lifeline sa lugar kagaya ng clearing operations sa daan, pagtatayo ng VSAT upang ma restore ang communication, pagbibigay ng libreng hot meals at malinis na tubig (With the onslaught of Typhoon Odette, we reopened the lifelines in the area with clearing operations, construction of a VSAT to restore communication, and the distribution of hot meals and clean water),” he added The event was aired live on PRC's Facebook page and was made possible through the use of a very-small-aperture terminal or VSAT, a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna.
Gordon personally directed the PRC team to bring a VSAT to Ubay to establish lifeline communications in the area. Ubay was the ground zero of super typhoon Odette in the Province of Bohol.
According to Gordon, three water tankers were deployed in the province of Bohol to provide clean and potable water to residents. Gordon also said that PRC conducted vaccination and testing in the area due to the increasing number of COVID-19 positive cases in the co
Gordon assured the public that PRC continues with its relief operations to "Odette"-hit areas nationwide.