Caritas Manila to send additional P1.8M cash aid for Bicol dioceses

Caritas Manila, a Church-led non-profit organization, will send additional P1.8 million cash aid for dioceses in the Bicol Region affected by Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine.”

Six dioceses in the Bicol Region, namely, the Archdiocese of Caceres and the Diocese of Libmanan in Camarines Sur; Diocese of Virac, Catanduanes; Diocese of Daet, Camarines Norte; Diocese of Legazpi, Albay; and Diocese of Sorsogon will each receive P300,000 in additional assistance.

This brings the total amount of assistance from the social arm of the Diocese of Manila to P3 million.

At the height of the typhoon's devastation last week, Caritas Manila sent P1.2 million in initial aid for Bicol, with six dioceses receiving P200,000 each.

According to Fr. Eric Martillano of the Diocese of Legazpi, the diocese is preparing for rehabilitation and recovery efforts although there are some people who have not yet received aid in Albay, particularly those residing in the towns of Jovellar and Pantao sa Libon, because the roads are not yet passable.

"Napakalayo ng lugar and very poor. Based sa assessment namin, ito na lang ang may strong need for relief (The areas are very far and the people there are very poor. Based on our assessment, these are the areas that strongly need relief aids),” Martillano said in an interview with Radio Veritas.

“For the rest of the affected population, gusto na namin mag-transition sa (we want to transition into) rehab and recovery initiatives,” Martillano added.

The relief operations of Caritas Virac also continue, led by Fr. Renato dela Rosa, among those who helped a village in Caramoran, Catanduanes that was ravaged by a tornado during the height of Typhoon “Kristine.”

“Dahil sa tulong ninyo, nakapag-relief operations na kami (Because of your help, we did our relief operations),” dela Rosa said.

“Tamang-tama, may mga naka-preposition kaming mga balde at tabo galing din sa inyo, at naisama namin sa pamamahagi para sa mga nasalanta ng buhawi sa baryo sa Caramoran (We have prepositioned buckets and dippers from you Caritas Manila too, and we included them in the distribution for the victims of the tornado in the village in Caramoran),” he added.

Caritas Caceres director Fr. Marc Real’s typhoon response also continues in the affected areas in Camarines Sur, together with Caritas Sorsogon director Fr. Ruel Lasay and Bishop Jose Alan Dialogo.

Based on the records of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, more than two million individuals or 500,000 families were affected by the destruction of “Kristine” in the Bicol Region.