TACLOBAN City, Nov. 14, 2013— As regions battered by the powerful typhoon demand massive relief effort, the Church has called for more action to bring the best of the community.
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, in a statement, said that a time of disaster is a time to help others.
“It is not a time to think only of self and forget others. It is a time to console and embrace our neighbors,” Tagle said.
“It is a time to show a love that is stronger than an earthquake or a typhoon. With this love, human lives would be restored and our nation rebuilt,” he said.
A total of P35 million has been donated by the archdiocese to help in the relief operations in several regions in Visayas devastated by the typhoon.
“We are one with our suffering brothers and sisters. You are not alone and will never be alone,” Tagle added.
The archdiocese’s second collections during Masses also continue to gather more funds for the relief operations.
The Diocese of Cubao also donated an initial P2 million for eastern Visayas and Cebu.
Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco said they also sent three trucks of relief goods, medicines and bottled water to the Diocese of Borongan in eastern Samar.
Six days after supertyphoon Yolanda devastated several parts of Visayas, Palo Archbishop John Du said the need for food and water is increasing.
He said many survivors in Tacloban are facing hunger and are forced to loot business establishments, the malls, just to find food.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Church has opened a new base in Catbalogan City to increase aid being delivered to typhoon victims in Samar island.
The social action center (SAC) of the Diocese of Calbayog in western Samar established an emergency relief center to coordinate and dispatch relief goods especially for the most damage parishes of the Diocese of Borongan.
Fr. Cesar Aculan, the diocesan SAC director, said the facility will provide a critical staging area for the relief effort because the city also has an airport to receive aid.
Organized relief operations started on Nov. 13, although meager relief distribution was done earlier to immediately accessible parishes in the province.
The city is closest to the affected areas in the island that are not yet accessible by road or phone.
Those who wish to distribute relief items to Samar and Leyte are invited to coordinate with stage center in order to maximize the impact of assistance. (CBCPNews)
