Photo by Luis Liwanag, VERA Files.
It’s the post by Edwin Molina in Ace Esmeralda’s wall. I’m sharing this without Molina’s permission.
He said: “We now need the so-called masterminds of the looters to run the show in Tacloban for their organizational/motivational skills, foresight, sense of urgency and swift, decisive actions after Yolanda hit the area.
“Later on to teach PNoy and his men such skills.
“PNoy should be starved to near death so he will understand the objective. Then they can do field training exercises by looting the houses of Napoles, Jinggoy, Revilla and Enrile. Anyway, looting is legal, plunder is not.”
***
Texas-based Armando Fuentes, whose letter of appeal to find his mother and 11 other relatives in Tolosa, Leyte was reprinted in this space last Monday, wrote that he was able to contact his brother and they are safe.
His letter:
“Maraming salamat po sa inyong tulong tungkol sa aming paghingi ng assistance na malaman ang kalagayan ng aming pamilya at mahal sa buhay.
“Our whole family is safe thank God, I was able to contact my brother in Tolosa just the other day (he was in Baybay , Leyte when I called, one of the remaining areas with intermittent cellphone signals) .
“He said they are all okay, everything is gone, most important everyone is alive. The problem now post- typhoon is their food, shelter and medicine. They and the rest of the affected people and areas aside from Tacloban desperately need help ASAP.
“I read on Facebook that Tolosa is stable and has been reached by relief efforts from PRC, PNP and military. Unfortunately it is not at all true. People in Tolosa are still hungry and waiting for food and other relief from either the goverment or private organizations. Please, if at all possible, for some to stop disseminating misinformation coz lives are at stake.
“If Tacloban, Palo and closer barangays relief afforts are still a problem, how much more for the surrounding towns. At present aside from Tanauan and Tolosa same thing is happening to other towns farther away, they are not reached by relief efforts.
“We know Tacloban was the hardest hit, and always in all the news, would it be fair that all the rest of the places be covered in detail as well.”
The miserable situation of Yolanda’s victims has touched everybody’s heart and each and every one of us who have been spared by the super-typhoon’s wrath are in a giving mood. It is good.
Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, gave some guidelines in meaningful giving:
1. Cash is better.
Pang said the PRC knows what items are in abundance and what are lacking. They can use the cash to buy what are lacking but needed most.
They can also get the items cheaper since they are buying in bulk.
2. Don’t give noodles. The victims would need water to cook noodles. Water is a scarce commodity in Yolanda-hit areas.
3. If you give canned goods, make sure that they can be opened without a can opener, which the victims do not have.
4. Give clothes with “integrity.” Do not give your inaamag winter clothes. Leyte and Samar are in the Philippines, a tropical country.
Do not give party clothes. The victims will look like silly wearing sequined, sexy clothes in evacuation centers. T-shirts are practical and useful.
Do not give used underwear. Buy a dozen or more underwears and donate. The victims will be thankful.
5. Also needed are anti-bacterial soap, not cosmetic soap; anti-dandruff shampoo; toothbrushes and toothpaste; laundry soap.
“Give with integrity, “ Pang said.
The Philippine Red Cross hotlines are 143, +632 527-0000, 09324995241 and 09175261957.
We mentioned last Monday that tenor Arthur Espiritu is spearheading a fund drive for Llorente, Samar, hometown of his wife, Christina Jobocan.
“We have no word from Christina’s family, or from our nuptial godfather, Llorente Vice-Mayor Nathaniel Hugo. I was so nervous for her because it was all she could think of,” Espiritu said.
Those who want to help Tenor Arthur Espiritu in the fundraising for typhoon victims of Llorente town in Eastern Samar are advised to get in touch with these numbers: 09273206744 or 09154985063.
