Congressmen to donate P10,000 each to Zamboanga victims

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—In the wake of the pork barrel scandal that has sullied its reputation, the House of Representatives has adopted a resolution for its members to donate part of their salaries to the victims of the violence in Zamboanga.

The resolution could raise as much as P2.89 million for Zamboanga residents, the amount pooled P10,000 contributions to be deducted from the monthly salary of each of the 289 representatives.

“The House of Representatives hereby extends financial assistance to the victims of this crisis which has resulted in massive damage to property and infrastructure, and adversely affected the livelihood of the people of Zamboanga,” said Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, who introduced the resolution jointly with Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II.

The House earlier condemned the attack on a number of Zambonga coastal districts by a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front led by Nur Misuari.

“Violence is definitely not at all the solution to achieve the peace sought by our brothers in Mindanao and by the Aquino government,” Belmonte said.