STOP SENDING ;PABLO' AID THROUGH DSWD!

To those who want to donate aid to victims of Typhoon ‘Pablo’:

As much as possible, DO NOT SEND your donation through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), or to whoever is the national or local government official in charge of receiving and disbursing relief to the victims.

You have NO ASSURANCE that whatever you share will go to the victims, or even be accounted for at all.

As I had written in an earlier blog HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS, if not BILLIONS of pesos worth of typhoon relief in cash and in kind have been pouring in from all over the country and from abroad for Typhoon ‘Pablo’s” victims.

Last week alone, Canada provided an additional P40 million, raising its total aid to date to P120 million, South Korea donated P32 million more, bringing its  total relief to P40 million.

That’s a cool P160 MILLION, people. And that’s just from two countries. But consider these, boys and girls:

Ever since relief began coming in from all directions, HAVE YOU HEARD EVEN ONE DETAILED BREAKDOWN from the DSWD or any other government official on WHERE EXACTLY (as in what province, town or city and barangay) did the aid go?

Have you heard or read from anywhere exactly how many people have received relief packages, from where are they and what did these contain?

Have you ever seen pictures of hundreds or thousands of ‘Pablo’ victims getting relief packs as proof that your donation (s) went to them and not to anybody else?

Or of massive reconstruction or repair, even in one area, of homes or infrastructure destroyed or damaged by ‘Pablo?’

Has the DSWD given even one DETAILED ACCOUNTING of how have the cash donations been spent, on what and when? Has DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman presented receipts or any other documentary proof that the money was spent for relief items and not on something else?

My answer to all these is a big NO!  Anyone can correct me if I’m wrong.

We, the public, don’t even know WHO’S HOLDING THE MONEY or where is it. And how much has been spent and how much is left.

Bottom line, there’s no reliable assurance that donations for ‘Pablo’ victims are NOT BEING STOLEN.

So if you want to help, bring it straight to the victims if you have the time and the means to do so. 

If you can’t, send it through the Church, charity organizations you know and trust, like the foundations of leading media companies, Caritas Manila, Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and the Philippine National Red Cross.

You can also try the various groups or orders of priests and nuns, like the Jesuits or the Dominicans and the Carmelite Nuns.

By all means, continue helping ‘Pablo’ victims for as long as you want.

But do it in a way in which your donation will have better chances of reaching the victims. IT’S FOR THEM, NOT FOR ANYONE ELSE’S POCKETS! 30