Update: Typhoon Ondoy Relief Operations
Operation Migrante Sagip Kababayan
(Operation Migrants Rescue Compatriots)

An emergency relief program for the victims of flooding in the Philippines

UPDATE NO. 3
10 October 2009

Dear friends,

After 12 days of relief drive, we are happy to inform you that we are able to collect a total of HK$98,691.40 of cash and cheque donations.

Out of this amount, HK$83,000 were given to “Sagip Migrante” relief mission in the Philippines, the “Bayanihan Alay sa Sambayanan (BALSA)”, and more than 20 Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong who were directly affected by the flood caused by typhoon Ondoy. The “Sagip Migrante” is the relief mission being run by MIGRANTE International and is supported by its members in Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Middle East and Europe. The “BALSA” is the multi-sectoral relief operation led by BAYAN Philippines. “Sagip Migrante” is also part of “BALSA”.

From September 29 to October 5, Sagip Migrante distributed bags of relief goods to 770 families (almost 4,000 individuals) covering the areas of (1) Brgy. Holy Spirit in Quezon City, (2) Caloocan, (3) Brgy. Katipunan, Muñoz, Proj.8, (4) Taytay, (5) Montalban. BALSA in their “Serve the People Brigade” served 600 families with relief goods and provided free medical services to more than 80 people in Bagumabayan, Quezon City and Kalawaan in Pasig City.

A soup kitchen was also setup and was able to feed 600 individuals. A total of 8 cans of “Taho” (sweet tofu) were also distributed. Migrante International also sent 14 volunteers to help in the clean-up drive of Tumana, Marikina last October 1.

Meanwhile, Migrante will continue to conduct relief missions to Sauyo, Quezon City, another round in Bagong Silang and others areas still unreached by relief missions while BALSA will be going out of Metro Manila on October 14 to distribute relief goods to 5,700 affected families in Pila and Mabitac, Laguna.

A bag of relief goods contains 1-2 kilos of rice, 2 cans of sardines or corned beef or 2 packs of noodles, bottled water (either 2 bottles or a liter), and biscuits/loaf bread.

As mentioned in our earlier advisories, both Sagip Migrante and BALSA relief missions, our partners in Manila – are directly distributing the goods to the affected communities. This ensures that relief reached the intended recipients faster and hassle-free. In fact, our volunteers delivered the relief goods literally house to house in makeshift boats in areas that are still flooded.

While we are still a long way from over in responding to the needs of the tens of thousands of families affected by the flooding, your contributions have already made a difference. Our relief goods that were funded by your generous contributions have already reached the tables of hundreds of families who are already suffering from thirst and hunger.

Your donations may have already saved lives.

We want to thank our generous donors – Pacific Basin Shipping (HK) Ltd., one of the first to respond generously. The St. Johns Cathedral and the Kowloon Union Church for allowing us to setup donation desks in their Churches.

To our friends James Dunlap, Sandee Lee, Wong Mei Wan, Arceli S. Dino, Chan Chi Ping, Candy Ching Wai Ling, Tse Kam Keung, Choi Yeung Mee (Shatin), Pang Yee Fung (Shatin), David Pierce, Ho Ka Yan, Wong Kam Wing, William Lo Yu-Hang, Steven Cheung, Poonam Rani, Aelefa Kwong, Henry Lam, Daigoro Oyama, David Turnbull, Richard Hext, Paula Chan, Yoyo Chu, Ian Dalgleish and Alex Slee for sharing your blessings to the victims.

To Christopher Percy, Suresh Prabhakar, Simon Chan (Capt.), Sunil Sahny, Xiu Cheng, Canmy Tam, Kathy Liem, So Kam Tung, Beryl Nisha Rebello, Tess Aquino, Elsa Li, Lode Van Leuven, Rajesh Jayaraman, T.Y. Chan, Claudia Cheng, C. Kocherla, Jay K Pillai, PK Cheung, Sanjay Relan, Rakesh Sharma, Bei Bing Liang, Tommy Hui En Ming, Zhang Baisen, Uttam Kumar Jaiswal, Li Shi Dong, Key Kwok, Davis Lai, Yao Bo, Lee Kwok Wai, S. M. Hau, Palecanda Subbiah, Rhod McNeill, Minda Po and C L Wang for your compassion and generosity.

And to the hundreds of nameless individuals, the Filipino migrant workers who have taken a portion of their hard-earned money so that others can eat and survive. To our volunteers who tirelessly roam around Hong Kong to collect in-kind and cash donations for the flood victims. To the organizations like the Junior Dance Club (JDC), BSK-Kowloon/NT and others who went on their way to gather donations from their members.

To our friends in the media - The SUN, True Friends and Hongkong News for publicizing our relief drive. To our friends in the community radio programs - Good Evening Kabayan (GEK) and Pinoy Tayo Saanman (PTS) for airing our appeals to thousands of our compatriots in Hong Kong. To BPI Remittance Ltd. for the free remittance service of our cash donations and to Afreight Cargo for assisting us to ship our in-kind donations.

Thank you very much to all of you.

Meanwhile, we have decided to set aside a small portion of the money to share it to the victims of typhoon Pepeng that is now in its 10th day in Northern Luzon areas, most of the time in land. A total of HK$15,691.40 will be given to the victims of typhoon Pepeng (international code name Parma) that has already submerged more than 60% of the province of Pangasinan to rainwater due to non-stop rain for 5 days. It has already resulted to at least 224 confirmed deaths due to drowning and landslides especially in the mountainous region of Cordillera. Billions of pesos worth of properties and agricultural crops have been destroyed.

It is also for this reason that we have decided to continue our “Operation Migrante Sagip Kababayan” relief drive in the next few weeks. We hope that you will continue to give so that we can reach out to more victims back in the Philippines.

Donations of HK$100 or more will be tax deductible. For those who are making direct money transfers or deposits to our account, please send us a copy of the transfer/deposit slip for accounting purposes and for us to issue the official receipt.

For your reference, below are the details of the bank account:

Payee: MFMW Limited
A/C #: 210 116448 883
Bank: Hang Seng Bank

Fax no.: 2526-2894
E-mail: secretariat@unifil.org.hk

Thank you very much for all those who have shared what they have to those who are in need. And please continue sending your donations. They will go a long way.


Sincerely yours,

Eman C. Villanueva
Convenor, “Operation Migrante Sagip Kababayan”
(Operation Migrants Rescue Compatriots)

MIGRANTE-INTERNATIONAL

October 3, 2009
PRESS RELEASE
Reference: Gary Martinez/ Chairperson/
Danilo Catalon/ OFW from Maldives

Calamity assistance not calamity loans! - Migrante

Calamity loan? No way!

Migrante International (MI) slammed Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s offer of calamity loans “as it falls short on giving significant relief to our kababayans affected by the storm. This will only put the debts of OFW families from knee-deep to drowning heights. If they really want to help, OWWA should just give away calamity assistance packages.”

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, donations from the international community has reached P566 million as of October 2. The National Disaster Coordinating Council on the other hand reported the initial total of affected as 512,092 families or 2,506,845 individuals.

Martinez cited the plight of OFW Danilo Catalon, a resident of Marikina City, who was helpless upon hearing the news that his wife was sick and his whole family was staying at the evacuation center in Nangka Elementray School. Their house was completely destroyed by the floods.

Catalon is one of the 200 workers who got stranded in the islands of Maldives. Fourty of them arrived yesterday in Manila “terribly” hungry and without any salary to give to their families.

“Wala na nga silang trabaho, bahay at pagkain, ibabaon pa sila sa pagkakautang,” Martinez lamented.

Migrante International also slammed OWWA’s “unfathomable callousness” in dealing with Catalon’s co-workers from Maldives.

“They languished for 6 months in the island-paradise because not a single assistance was given to them by any Philippine government agency. Not even a bottled water was extended to them upon arrival at the airport. And in the middle of the storm, they were being asked to leave the OWWA shelter,” exclaimed Martinez.

The workers are locals from Isabela, Cagayan, Pangasinan, La Union, Kalinga, Albay and Marinduque, provinces that are presently being hit by typhoon Pepeng. ###

For info:

MIGRANTE-International

Email: migrante2007@yahoo.com.ph

Website: http://migrantecampaign.ning.com

CDRC: Appeal for Support for Ondoy Victims

September 30, 2009


Update: TS Ondoy affects 1.8 M people


The number of families affected by Tropical Storm Ondoy (international name Ketsana) has already reached 1,872,036 persons or 319,881 families. Ondoy battered Metro Manila and parts of Luzon after it made landfall near the boundary of Aurora and Quezon Saturday morning, September 26. Metro Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Batangas, Laguna and Rizal were the most affected by the massive floods.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council reported that 240 people died in the National Capital Region (101), CAR (3), Region III (37), and Region IV-A (99). Meantime, at least 37 people remain missing.

In Metro Manila, over 100,000 people from over 900 barangays were evacuated after incessant rains caused heavy flooding in Manila, Marikina, Malabon, Muntinlupa, Makati, Pasay, Pasig, Valenzuela, San Juan and Quezon City. Flood water in some areas have already reached the second and third floors of buildings, forcing residents to seek refuge on the roof of their houses. A total of 50 road sections were also left impassable to vehicles due to raging flood waters, leaving several commuters stranded.

In Bulacan, 113 baranggays in Marilao, Meycuayan, San Miguel and Bocaue Sta Maria, Calumpit, Bustos and Norzagaray were heavily flooded. In Pampanga, 64 barangays in San Simon, Guagua, Masantol, Apalit, Lubao, Porac, Sto Tomas and San Fernando.

In Rizal, several barangays were flooded and 5,000 families were affected by rising floodwater. Many villages were not accessible to the rescue teams, leaving several families trapped on rooftops for hours.

Landslides occurred in Mt Province-Cagayan via Tabuk in CAR; Brgy. San Juan-Banyo, Arayat, Pampanga in Region III; Brgy. Bongalon, Sangay, Camarines Sur in Region V; Tagaytay-Taal Road, and Tagaytay-Talisay Road in Cavite; and Antipolo-Teresa Road and Sumulong Highway in Rizal.

The total cost of damage has already reached P108.9M. The damage to infrastructure has reached P108.7M; and to agriculture P212,537.

The Secretary of National Defense declared a State of National Calamity in the following areas in view of the extensive effects of Tropical Storm “Ondoy”:



- The whole of National Capital Region (NCR)

- CAR: Mt. Province, Ifugao and Benguet

- Region I: Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos Sur

- Region II: Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya

- Region III: Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac and Bataan

- Region IV-A: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon

- Region IV-B: Mindoro (Occidental and Oriental) and Marinduque

- Region V: Catanduanes, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur






Appeal for assistance


Right after the typhoon, CDRC and its Regional Centers immediately conducted a Damages, Needs and Capacities Assessment (DNCA) in the affected areas.

Of the total number of affected families, the most vulnerable were carefully identified, taking into account the gravity of destruction, their economic capacity to cope, their accessibility to relief services conducted by other agencies, and their willingness to help themselves. On the basis of these criteria, 25,473 families have been short-listed as the most vulnerable families from among the total affected.



The above-mentioned communities are among the worst affected by the typhoon and floods. Their houses were destroyed by the floods, and many of these areas are still difficult to access and therefore receive very little assistance if any. Immediate needs are food supply augmentation and other essential non-food items.



Needs include:

food provisions
water supply
medicines (for common colds and diarrhea)
clothes
bedding (mats, blankets, mosquito nets)
plastic sheet
kitchen utensils
sanitary napkins
construction materials (plywood, corrugated metal roof, etc)


Donations for the evacuees may be sent through the Citizens’ Disaster Response Center at 72-A Times St., West Triangle Homes, Quezon City. Concerned individuals and donors can easily reach us at (632) 929-9822 / (632) 929-9820. Donations may also be sent through the following bank accounts:



Dollar Account

Account Name: Citizens’ Disaster Response Center
Account Number: 2-63600158-3
Bank: Metrobank, Examiner Branch
Bank Address: Corner Examiner and Quezon Avenue, West Triangle, Quezon City, Philippines
Swift Code: MBTCPHMM



Peso Account

Account Name: Citizens’ Disaster Response Center
Account Number: 3-63600741-3
Bank: Metrobank, Examiner Branch
Bank Address: Corner Examiner and Quezon Avenue, West Triangle, Quezon City, Philippines

References

NDCC
PAGASA
Reports from:

Community Response for Enlightenment, Service and Transformation (CREST)

Alay Bayan Incorporated (ABI)

Southern Tagalog People's Response Center (STPRC)

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Research and Public Information Department (RPID)
Citizens' Disaster Response Center, Inc. (CDRC)
72-A Times St., West Triangle Homes, Quezon City, 1104 Philippines
Tel: (632) 929-9820; Fax: (632) 929-9822
E-mail: cdrc.rpid@gmail.com
Website: http://cdrc-phil.org; http://cdrc1984.multiply.com