Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng Calamity Fund

Donations in Kind for Communities Affected by Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng

Donations for Botolan, Zambales

 

HRP Conducts Relief Operations for Flooded Communities in Botolan

 

Heeding the appeals for relief assistance made by Diocese of Iba Bishop Florentino Lavarias for Botolan folks, the Holy Rosary Parish (HRP) in Angeles City started a relief drive last August 14, 2009. Typhoons “Kiko and Labuyo” caused massive flooding in Botolan, displacing thousands and causing immense damage to properties.

Seeing the urgency of the need, Bp. Pablo S. David, D.D. appealed for donations in cash or kind. It did not take long for the parishioners of HRP to respond by delivering their cash and check donations as well as various goods including rice, canned goods, noodles, used clothes, etc to the HRP-Social Action Center (HRP-SAC) office . A total of P 129,700.00 in cash was remitted to the Diocese of Iba, along with three truckloads of assorted stuff delivered in three batches (Pls. see attached report).

HRP-SAC volunteers Fely Salita, Lourdes Sanga, Olive Dizon and Joel Ocampo personally delivered the first batch of goods on August 15, 2009, traveling all the way from Angeles to Botolan via the Tarlac-Pangasinan route. The trip took all of eight hours (one-way) since the Botolan highway had become a virtual river with rampaging floodwater flowing through it. Bridges and roads had become impassable because of the flood.

Rev. Frs. Ian Maniago and Kenneth Mason warmly welcomed the group upon its arrival in Sta. Monica Parish, Botolan, Zambales. Prior to this, the HRP-SAC volunteers paid a courtesy call on Iba Bishop Florentino Lavarias, a native of Mabalacat, Pampanga who was a member of the Pampanga clergy before he was ordained bishop and assigned in Zambales.

An ocular survey of the group on the affected areas revealed massive damage to properties including houses, schools, agricultural lands and business establishments. Brgy. San Juan was among the worst affected along with Barangays Carael, Paco and Bangan.

The disaster experience of Botolan folks was likened to the experience of Kapampangans after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. Floods and lahar took a heavy toll on the economy and changed the landscape of Pampanga. It has, since, become a mission among Kapampangans to give back and help other communities back to their feet after a debilitating disaster. The generous and timely response of the parishioners of Holy Rosary Parish to the Botolan disaster was part of that mission. (Olive Dizon)

COMELEC Resets Initial Hearing on the Pampanga Recount Case to Oct. 15

PPCRV Recount Monitoring Report 4
October 8, 2009
Contact: PPCRV Secretariat at Tel. Nos. 860-53-38 or 961-41-12


The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on Thursday (October 8, 2009) reset the initial hearing on the recount case filed by defeated gubernatorial candidate Lilia Pineda against Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio. The hearing was moved to October 15 (Thursday), 8:30 a.m. at the COMELEC Office in Intramuros, Manila.

This as Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, Presiding Officer of COMELEC’s 2nd Division, noted that the two other Commissioners of the 2nd Division, Hon. Lucenito Tagle and Hon. Elias Yusoph could not attend the initial hearing According to COMELEC rules, at least two of the three Commissioners comprising a Division have to be present in the hearings involving electoral contest adjudication. Comm. Tagle was in Indonesia while Comm. Yusoph was said to be attending an important meeting with newly-appointed COMELEC Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal.

The hearing was intended to be a venue for protestant Lilia Pineda to present evidences and prove her allegations against Gov. Panlilio. It may be recalled that Pineda lost to Panlilio by a slim margin of 1,147 votes in the May 2007 synchronized elections. She filed an election protest against Panlilio on May 25, 2007 on allegations of: a) mis-appreciation and misreading of ballots, and b) fraud and irregularities such as massive cheating, vote-buying and harassment of teachers and pollwatchers of the rival camp.

The lawyers of both parties, Atty. Jorge Garcia (Counsel for Pineda) and Attys. Sixto Brillantes and Ernesto Francisco, Jr. (Counsels for Panlilio) agreed to the postponement of the hearing. Comm. Ferrer agreed to give a one-week extension to the Pineda camp for the “pre-marking of their documentary evidence”.

When asked to comment about alleged recount results circulating through text which point to a sure win for Pineda, Atty. Francis Allen Abaya, Clerk of Court of the 2nd Division, emphasized that these are unofficial figures pending the completion of the hearings and the actual appreciation of votes.

Commissioner Ferrer appealed for cooperation from both camps for the speedy resolution of the recount case. He revealed that he has been getting calls almost daily from Kapampangans who inquire about the status and outcome of the case.

“Food for the Soul” for Typhoon Ondoy Victims in San Juan Baño, Arayat

In times of disasters, we become like guardian angels to affected families when we share what we have to help them rebuild their lives. Sometimes though, we tend to forget the equally important kind of assistance that people need which is spiritual assistance. With this premise in mind, Pampanga prelate Bp. Pablo “Ambo” S. David led hundreds of evacuees at the Mt. Arayat National Park in celebrating the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels on Friday (October 2, 2009).

The evacuees were among the 256 families affected by the floods and the landslide that occurred at the height of Typhoon Ondoy’s onslaught last Saturday, September 26 which claimed the lives of twelve (12) residents of Brgy. San Juan Baño, Arayat among whom were a pregnant woman and several children. Most of them lost their homes and material belongings as boulders and mud came rampaging down the slopes of Mt. Arayat noontime of September 26. The event was reminiscent of the lahar flows from Mt. Pinatubo which wiped out entire barangays in the early ‘90s.

Fr. Rey Cruz, Parish Priest of St. Catherine Parish and newly-ordained deacon Rev. Francis Mallari, who both concelebrated with Bp. Ambo organized the gathering with the help of parish lay leaders and in coordination with the Holy Rosary Parish – Social Action Center (HRP-SAC). Members of the Holy Name Society of the Holy Rosary Parish came all the way from Angeles to donate “sweet monay” bread and candies for the children. The said parish also delivered the second batch of relief goods (canned goods, rice, clothes, bottled water, juice, etc.) donated by generous Angeleños/as through HRP-SAC. The Angeles contingent was joined by volunteers from the Inocencio Magtoto Memorial Foundation, Inc. (IMMFI).

After the mass, Bp. Ambo and the HRP-SAC volunteers visited the site where the landslide occurred. The sight of mangled remains of nipa houses and personal effects such as muddied clothes and shoes strewn all over the place greeted the group. Signs warning people to stay away from the “Danger Zone” were posted at the entrance to the area. The warnings came too late for the residents who continue to wonder what could have caused the landslide. Was it illegal mining or did Mt. Arayat, which is believed to be a dead volcano erupt? Arayat residents have been requesting for an independent investigation on the matter, even as the Mines and Geosciences Bureau claimed that it was the high volume of rainwater that caused the landslide.

The evacuees are expected to stay for at least a month more at the evacuation center after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-III, on Thursday (October 1) declared a 700-m danger zone from the slopes of Mt. Arayat, where they had established their residences. Still unable to grasp how this disaster could happen at all, old residents swear that it was their first time to witness such a dreadful event in the area. A week into their evacuation, health and sanitation has become a problem due the lack of necessary facilities such as toilets and bathrooms with source of clean water. Toiletries (e.g. soap, toothbrush, toothpaste and alcohol) and medicines for common ailments (e.g. coughs and colds, diarrhea, skin disease, etc.) are among the more pressing needs of the evacuees at this period.