RIYADH, 19 July — The Philippine Embassy yesterday appealed to Filipino community organizations and individuals in the Kingdom to once again tap their reservoir of volunteerism and support the humanitarian efforts of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC).
Ambassador Rafael E. Seguis issued the call amid a plea for help from the Red Cross, which is currently in the thick of relief operations for tens of thousands of Filipinos affected by floods at home.
“Your donations to the Red Cross will go a long way in providing relief to our unfortunate kababayans at home who are facing extreme difficulties because of calamities, natural and man-made,” the ambassador said in endorsing a PNRC appeal for help.
Faced with increasing difficulty in getting funds for its humanitarian mission, the PNRC has decided to tap overseas Filipinos, many of whom have shown their willingness to help in any worthwhile endeavor at home and in their place of work.
PNRC Secretary-General Lourdes R. Loyola had written the embassy, saying that while there is no end in sight to the calamities in the Philippines, donations are getting few and far between.
One of the traditional sources of funds for the PNRC are the collections made by schools in the Philippines from their students during enrolment.
This schoolyear, however, the Department of Education put a stop to the mandatory collection on the ground that many families could hardly even meet the basic necessities for their children.
Ambassador Seguis said it should not be difficult to donate to the Red Cross since its beneficiaries are wide-ranging.
“The Red Cross serves millions of our kababayan each year, regardless of religious or ethnic affiliation, including families of Overseas Filipino Workers,” he said.
Teresita Usapdin, the PNRC’s acting director for fund generation, said organizations and individuals can send their donations to the agency’s dollar savings account, No. 2-151-00218-2, Metro Bank and Trust Co., Anda Circle, Port Area Branch.
Usapdin said in an e-mail to Vice Consul Germinia V. Aguilar-Usudan, whom Ambassador Seguis had designated to coordinate with the PNRC, that all donations will be acknowledged by means of an official receipt to all donors, group or individuals.
In an earlier letter to the ambassador, PNRC Secretary-General Loyola said individual donors will also be sent membership cards and Red Cross pin.
The membership card will entitle any chosen relative or friend (residing in the Philippines) of the donor to avail of a package of health and accident benefits within a period of one year