Over P75 million worth of donations--in cash and "in kind"--have been given by "kind-hearted" Filipinos in connection with House Speaker Martin Romualdez's call for help for the benefit of severe tropical storm (STS) "Paeng" victims all over the country.
This was learned after Romualdez bared that the the partial total value of in kind donations such as food items, blankets, and toiletries stood at P26,316,409 as of Tuesday, Nov. 1.
"Marami pong salamat sa lahat ng mga mabubuting puso na tumulong sa ating relief drive (Thank you very much to all the kind-hearted people who helped in our relief drive). We need all the help that we can get, we already reached many affected families nationwide and we vow to bring the remaining aid to the affected families as soon as possible," Romualdez, who represents Leyte's 1st district, said on Wednesday, Nov. 2.
The House leader had earlier announced that cash donations and pledges for the relief drive have already reached P49.2 million.
This means that the cash and initial in kind donations--which poured in following Romualdez's call on his social media Saturday--has hit over P75 million.
Paeng battered different parts of the Philippines from Luzon to Mindanao last week, resulting in dozens of fatalities on top of the displacement of many others as a result of flash floods.
The fund drive was led by Speaker Romualdez; his wife, House Committee on Accounts Chairperson and Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez; House Committee on Appropriations Chairman, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose "Mannix" Dalipe, and other ranking congressmen.
For days now, Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City, the home of the House of Representatives, has served as a central sorting and repacking station for truckloads of relief goods and other items of necessity from the storm victims.
On Tuesday afternoon, some 150 boxes (1,500 packs) of relief goods, 80 bundles of bottled water, 20 sacks of rice, one box of multivitamins, and one box of vitamin C were transported by the House employees-slash-volunteers to Paeng-affected areas in Camarines Norte.
Also on Tuesday afternoon, volunteers transported relief goods to families affected by Paeng in Tacloban City.
Meanwhile, Tingog Party-list, in partnership with the Speaker's office, facilitated on Tuesday afternoon the delivery of relief goods to the storm-stricken families of Maguindanao.
According to Speaker Romualdez, there are instances where the relief goods were procured and repacked locally in the affected area. This allowed for the faster delivery of the much-needed aid to the victims of the calamity.