Operation Kapusong Pinoy

Operation Kapusong Pinoy

By Ardie Ching

“WE  need food, water, medicine…” The appeals were made by the victims of the four typhoons that hit our country recently. As dozens of bodies were burned and the stench of corpses hung in the air, some survivors are still hoping, as they pick up the pieces, that they can still recover from the said tragedy.
To date, reports said about 2,000 Filipinos are believed to be dead while others are still missing due to landslide, flooded fields and ruined buildings brought about by the havoc of the typhoons. Army and civilian engineers worked round-the-clock to dig up collapsed structures hoping to find more bodies buried under tons of mud, logs, and felled coconut trees. One of the survivors who still managed to help rescuers in rescuing people from collapsed structure in Real town despite his swollen leg said, “it was distressing to hear people crying for help.”

Several residents of Real and other towns in Quezon trudged home through the mud carrying the few possessions they had saved. As thousands of displaced returned to washed-out homes, the health officials warned, cholera, hepatitis and other diseases are potential threats and urged people to bury their dead quickly as the receding flood waters were revealing more bodies. A Reuters photographer said the stench of decaying corpses was everywhere. In Real, residents burned some of the corpses to prevent an outbreak of diseases while in the village of Tignoan, local officials are requesting for more body bags and lime so they could bury their dead, said Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual, AFP spokesman.
In the town of Infanta, also in Quezon province, logs and debris littered the streets. Logging has been blamed for exacerbating the disaster, loosening the soil on slopes, and causing landslides. “Nature has punished us severely,” said Jesus Pugay, a 62-year-old farmer in Infanta, Quezon. “Life here has been very difficult. I don’t know how long we can survive this ordeal.”

Some of the worst hit towns remain the most deprived in assistance because of difficulties in accessing their areas. Among these are Baler and Dingalan in Aurora, Bongabon and Gabaldon in Nueva Ecija, and Infanta, Real, and General Nakar in Quezon. People in these areas have been complaining of lack of food. Soliman said that while food packs are being delivered, the people there believe there is not enough food. “We need to overwhelm them with food,” Soliman added. Assistance is also being extended to Camarines Norte and Sur where several houses were also damaged.

In response to the call of further augmenting the relief assistance, the The Gateway Centre for New Canadians and the Knights of Rizal recently joined hands in initiating a relief operation dubbed “Operation Kapusong Pinoy” which will last until January 31, 2005. Furthermore, the goal of the Operation Kapusong Pinoy is to become an ongoing project to help in the Philippines during the times of calamities and to extend assistance in the many charitable institutions in the Philippines as well as to our less fortunate countrymen.

All donations will now be accepted at the office of the The Gateway Centre for New Canadians that will serve as a depot for the collection of clothing, blankets, medical items, and non-perishable food (dry and canned goods). Cash donations can be deposited at RBC Account No. 1011-907, Transit No. 06512 under Account Name Knights of Rizal/Typhoon Victims Philippines. All donations will be channeled through the GMA 7 Kapuso Foundation to ensure a direct distribution to the beneficiaries. For further information or if you are interested to help, you can call Bunny Tiangson 905-848-1106 of The Gateway Centre for New Canadians, Rei Ching 905-272-8123 or Adolfo Padua 905-897-8686. You can also drop your donations at 3450 Wolfedale Road cor. Central Parkway Drive, Mississauga.

(PRESS RELEASE)