House mounting relief drive for victims of Typhoon Ulysses

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is setting up a relief drive to aid victims of Typhoon Ulysses, which violently whipped a vast portion of the country, mostly Luzon.

House Secretary-General Jocelia Bighani Sipin said the legislative chamber is setting up a relief operation in the Batasang Pambansa Complex’s gymnasium and will accept donations and pledges for food and non-food needs of typhoon victims.

“Upon the instructions of Speaker [Lord Allan] Velasco, we are mobilizing volunteers in the House to organize relief operations so that we can roll out donations and relief goods to the typhoon victims,” Sipin said.

Velasco, for his part, extended “heartfelt sympathies” to all the people affected by the typhoon. He lamented the destruction caused by Ulysses.

“Typhoon Ulysses was strong, but Filipinos will prove themselves stronger as we did during Ondoy and all other devastating typhoons, including the recent Quinta and Rolly,” the Speaker said.

“Rest assured that the donations made through the House of Representatives are efficiently delivered to typhoon victims in Metro Manila,” he added.

To recall, some House lawmakers have pledged their full salary for the month of November to help victims of typhoons Quinta and Rolly that also recently hit parts of the country.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that as of 4 p.m., Ulysses was located 200 kilometers west of Iba, Zambales packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 150 kph.

Pagasa said it expects Ulysses to exit the Philippine area of responsibility by Friday morning.

KGA