Several House solons pledge November ‘full salary’ to aid Quinta, Rolly victims

HOMELESS_The city suffers heavy rain and wind which causes alot of damages to some houses after Typoon ‘Rolly’ batters the Bicol region on Sunday. Photos taken in Purok #2, Barangay Basud, Tabaco City, 1st District of Albay province on November 2, 2020, Monday. MARK ALVIC ESPLANA / INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON.

MANILA, Philippines — Several lawmakers in the House of Representatives have pledged their full salary for the month of November to help victims of Typhoons Quinta and Rolly that ravaged parts of the country, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said Thursday.

This is a part of the lower chamber’s launching of a fund drive, wherein lawmakers can voluntarily contribute any amount, to aid communities affected by two successive strong typhoons.

“The devastation caused by the two successive typhoons demands that each of us must help in every way we can to provide some relief and comfort to our countrymen who continue to endure these sufferings as the nation battles with COVID-19,” Velasco said in a statement.

House Secretary-General Jocelia Bighani Sipin said the House has already raised almost P7 million in cash donations from its members since the fund drive started on Monday this week.

Aside from cash donations, Sipin said Velasco has also given instructions to call for donations of non-perishable items that will be sent to the hardest-hit communities in the Bicol region.

This was reflected in a memorandum dated November 3, where Sipin appealed to House members and department heads to donate “non-perishable food items, toiletries, clothes, footwear, or any other items that may be useful and necessary to address” the needs of typhoon victims.

“We are setting up donation boxes and all departments in Congress are encouraged to drop what they can to help the typhoon victims,” Sipin said.

The donation drive will run from November 4 to 13, she added.

Typhoons Quinta and Rolly left numerous casualties and millions in destroyed crops and infrastructure after ravaging parts of the country, particularly the Luzon and Visayas regions.

Rolly was even reported as being the strongest typhoon in the world so far this year.

/MUF