MANILA, Oct. 30, 2013—With Bohol getting on its feet after the powerful temblor that hit the province, the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP-NASSA) has intensified its rapid relief operations to help quake survivors.
Fr. Edu Gariguez, NASSA’s executive secretary said some of his staff is still in Bohol not just to monitor the events but to help Boholanos in their efforts to rebuild their communities.
“Our efforts are still continuous. Our staff that are in the province right now are in constant communication with the two dioceses in the province, Tagbilaran and Talibon. What is good right now, our team on the ground can visit far flung villages which are not regularly visited by rescuers with the help of two Caritas England (CAFOD) staff who are also from Bohol,” Gariguez said in a chance interview during a Church forum in Intramuros, Manila.
Gariguez added that their target budget for relief operations is P14.2 million which was already approved by Caritas Internationalis, a Catholic Church network for emergency and development.
However, he pointed out that Caritas is still raising the amount right now which can still be possibly reduced depending on the money that it can raise from members of the confederation in Europe.
With this amount, NASSA will respond to the needs of 21,759 affected beneficiaries in the hardest hit and least served barangays in the municipalities of Maribojoc, Inabanga, Carmen, Danao and Sagbayan which is the epicenter of the quake by providing shelter materials, food, and non-food items.
Designated as Caritas Philippines, NASSA will also manage the over-all coordination of the project while the diocesan social action centers (DSACs) of Tagbilaran and Talibon dioceses will implement the interventions in municipalities under their jurisdictions.
Technical assistance shall be provided by NASSA to support DSAC’s implementation and to ensure that the services adhere to be internationally minimum standards. (Jandel Posion)
