PHILIPPINE RED CROSS SENDS $US25,000-AID TO KATRINA VICTIMS
MANILA, September 5, 2005 (STAR) (AP) - The Philippine National Red Cross said Saturday it will send 25,000 US dollars in aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina in the United States and will start a fund drive for them.The Philippine's Red Cross chairman, Sen. Richard Gordon, said the money will be sent through the American Red Cross.
"We are answering the call to help our brethren who have been devastatingly affected by the disaster," Gordon said in a statement.
He said he will also send medical and post trauma stress debriefing teams if requested by U.S. Red Cross authorities. Gordon recalled that the American Red Cross also has sent disaster aid and relief missions to the Philippines, a disaster-prone Southeast Asian country that has been hit by deadly earthquakes, typhoons, floods, volcanic eruptions and other calamities.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo earlier expressed "profound sympathies" to Americans.
"America has never hesitated to come to the aid of distressed Filipinos in times of disaster, and we also feel the anguish of death and destruction of a friend and ally across the Pacific," she said.
RP to send 25 aid workers to US The Philippine Star 09/04/2005
The government will send a 25-member team of aid workers to the United States to help assist victims of hurricane Katrina, Malacañang announced yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Red Cross will send $25,000 in aid to the victims and will start a fund drive for them.
The first 10 members of the team, consisting of doctors, nurses and sanitary engineers, are scheduled to leave next week, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said.
President Arroyo has ordered aid workers sent and has urged Filipino-American communities in the United States to pitch in and help.
"We wish the American people a speedy recovery from this calamity and we extol their courage and sense of community in overcoming the heavy loss in terms of precious homes and human lives," Mrs. Arroyo said.
Speaker Jose de Venecia has joined Mrs. Arroyo in urging Filipino-American communities in the United States to mobilize help for hurricane victims.
"These efforts will be under the umbrella of relief efforts of US federal and state authorities. In our global village, we all must try to extend assistance to victims of one of the worst natural disasters to hit the United States," he said.
De Venecia said Loida Nicolas-Lewis, president of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), promised him a "speedy response."
Sen. Richard Gordon, the Red Cross’ chairman, said the $25,000 donation will be sent through the American Red Cross.
"We are answering the call to help our brethren who have been devastatingly affected by the disaster," Gordon said in a statement. "We commiserate with the victims, their families and with all the American people as they deal with the grave effects of the hurricane and as they endeavor to rebuild the communities that have been affected."
He said he will also send medical and post trauma stress debriefing teams if requested by US Red Cross authorities.
The United States has traditionally been one of the biggest sources of official disaster assistance to the Philippines. US troops provided help after typhoons struck the country last year, leaving about 1,800 people dead or missing.
Gordon recalled that the American Red Cross also has sent disaster aid and relief missions to the Philippines, a disaster-prone country that has been hit by deadly earthquakes, typhoons, floods, volcanic eruptions and other calamities.
Mrs. Arroyo earlier expressed "profound sympathies" to Americans.
"America has never hesitated to come to the aid of distressed Filipinos in times of disaster, and we also feel the anguish of death and destruction of a friend and ally across the Pacific," she said.
About 200 Filipino-Americans made homeless by Katrina have fled to south Texas where the Filipino community in the area in a spirit of bayanihan have mobilized to clothe, house and feed them, a community leader in Texas said.
"Right now we have 55 families — about 200 people — from New Orleans and others are still trickling in. They’re in a dire situation. Some are just knocking on doors in Houston for help and the Filipino community has responded gallantly," Arlene Machetta, a lawyer and the southwest region chairwoman of the NaFFAA told the STAR on Friday.
Some of the refugees have friends and family in Houston who have taken them in. The rest are billeted in local churches that have Filipino priests to make them feel at home.
"So far we have delivered two truckloads of goods such as blankets, clothes, groceries, mattresses and pillows to families and churches assisting displaced families," said Machetta.
She said two or three people from the community had gone to the Superdome stadium in New Orleans, turned by authorities into a massive refugee center, to try and identify Filipinos who needed help so they could be brought to Houston.
The STAR was unable to get in touch with Philippine Honorary Consul General Cielo Martinez in New Orleans for an update of the situation on Friday because of poor telephone connections.
Meanwhile, a small group of volunteers from the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles are expected to arrive in Houston on Saturday to coordinate assistance efforts.
Under orders from Mrs. Arroyo, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo has instructed Filipino diplomats to monitor the status of Filipinos in the states hit by Katrina, assuring "all possible assistance to our nationals who may be affected by this natural catastrophe."
Tens of thousands of people remain stranded in New Orleans where authorities are struggling with the herculean task of supplying them with food and drinking water and restoring law and order.
In the aftermath of Katrina, chaos has gripped New Orleans in Louisiana and parts of Mississippi, the two hardest hit states in the south where thousands are feared dead.
Damage is expected in the tens of billions of dollars and the impact of the hurricane to the US economy is expected to be felt for years.
The federal government in Washington has approved an initial $10.5 billion in hurricane aid and former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush are spearheading fundraising efforts for victims of Katrina in a reprise of their roles heading the drive for victims of last December’s Asian tsunami.
Even as Americans from all walks of life mobilized to help hurricane victims many were wondering why local and state officials seemed so unprepared to cope with Katrina despite projected computer models showing its likely path of destruction. The fact that many of the victims are blacks, has added a combustible mix to the equation.
Late evacuation orders, insufficient emergency shelter and failure by officials to plan for serious levee breaches in New Orleans which is seven feet below sea level, are some of the issues that are likely to be closely examined in the coming days.
But for now, everyone is consumed with the task of helping hurricane victims and accounting for those missing.
Contributions have started to pour in from across the nation — one radio station in Washington DC alone raised $200,000 in six hours — and donations of blankets, canned goods, bottled water and the like are inundating collection areas.
NaFFAA chief operating officer Armando Heredia in a statement on Friday appealed to all Filipino-Americans to help take care of people affected by Katrina through the Red Cross or other relief organizations.
A NaFFAA spokeswoman in Washington DC said the organization has made known to official channels its readiness to help in any way.
In the meantime the best thing it can do is keep its volunteers away from the stricken Gulf coast so as not to impede government rehabilitation efforts.
The Philippine embassy in Washington estimates there are 17,000 Filipino immigrants in Florida, 6,800 in Louisiana and 3,840 in Mississippi — the three states that bore the brunt of Katrina. — Aurea Calica, Jose Katigbak (STAR Wahington bureau), Delon Porcalla, Sheila Crisostomo, AFP, AP
News Chief Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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