Relief efforts for typhoon Carina victims organized by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) team on Wednesday were hampered by widespread flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains.
The relief drive designated for the Camanava area, which was delayed because of some “impassable” roads, was set in motion shortly after Malacañang ordered the suspension of work in government offices.
“We were literally stopped in our tracks by the heavy rains and massive flooding from bringing relief goods and other assistance to the victims, especially those in the Camanava area,” PCSO general manager Mel Robles said in an interview.
He added that the PCSO team had already prepared as early as yesterday afternoon with relief goods placed in plastic water pails called “Charitimba” for distribution.
According to PCSO, their team will proceed with the distribution of relief goods tomorrow, along with the authorized agency corporations (AACs) who have expressed their willingness to participate in the relief operations.
Robles has instructed all PCSO branches and small-town lottery AACs to conduct immediate relief drives in areas affected by the southwest monsoon and typhoon Carina.
“I have instructed our branch offices to coordinate with local government units for a swifter and smoother distribution of groceries and food packs to the affected families,” Robles stated.
The contributions from various organizations and AACs for the relief efforts include:
• Hit It Big Gaming Corporation (Cagayan): 200 groceries
• Pines Estate and Gaming Corp. (Benguet and Baguio City STL-AAC): 30 sacks of rice
• Caloocan AAC: 10 cavans of rice
• Grand 888 AAC: 100 packs of groceries
• Great Mind Games and Amusement Corp- Muntinlupa
Groceries for 900 families
• Ludis Bay AAC Caloocan -10 cavans of rice
• Pluto AAC- Manila
relief goods for 500 families
• Tiger Claws AAC- Pasay
relief good for 300 families
• IRIS ACC- Las Pinas
relief goods
• Winning Pick AAC- Malabon
relief goods
• Lucent AAC- Quezon City
relief goods
PCSO will also be conducting a corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity tomorrow after the 2pm draw, during which they will distribute groceries, soup, and bread to those in need.
A state of calamity has been declared in the National Capital Region by the Metro Manila Council (MMC) on Wednesday following the massive flooding caused by the southwest monsoon or habagat which was exacerbated by tropical cyclone Carina.
The declaration came following a meeting by Metro Manila mayors presided by Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos, which would enable the local government units to access emergency funds swiftly and implement relief operations to aid the displaced residents.
