Don’t have extra cash to donate? Donate your time! Call your local Red Cross Chapter, your local church organization like the Catholic Relief Services, your local relief organization like the Salvation Army, etc., for any help that you can extend. They may need an extra helping hands more than cash, cans of sardines or used clothing!

If you think relief operations are for trained personnel only, your dead wrong! There are more than 1,001 ways to help others through your Red Cross and other relief organizations.

Help in the kitchen: help cook food for distribution to evacuation centers, food for canteen services of the rescuers, police officers, firemen, etc and of the volunteers and staff that are working tirelessly 24/7. bring extra disposable plates, spoons. forks and cups if you can.

Help in the office: help receive goods, accommodate visitors, guide volunteers, file reports, answer phone, operate the 2-way radio, clean office, organizer clutter, etc. Bring your 2-way radio if you have, your celphone and its charger. Bring flashlight if you can.

Help in errands: drive transport unit, buy supplies, pick up donations, pick up/drop off personnel and volunteers, etc. Bring your car, motocycle, or bicycle if you can.

Help in relief operations:  load and unload supplies, sort out relief goods, drive supply trucks, distribute goods, gather field information, etc., bring working gloves, masks, hard hat, rubber or military boots, pocho or raincoat, extra clothing, jacket, sleeping bag if you can.

Help in the rescue operations: If you have a military background or have skills in outdoor sports, a trained rescuer, if you have medical backgroud, a nurse, a doctor, a midwife, a first aider, a life guard or if you have knowledge in logistical operations, you will be a very valuable rescue team personnel. If you own a boat, a generator set, rapelling ropes and accessories, binoculars, spot lights, etc. call the organization’s operations center.

These are just a few examples of what you can do and a few examples of opportunities that you can meet  people and good friends.

Lastly, please remember them, the tens of thousands, victims of typhoon Onday, that desperately need your help!

If you want to help through monetary donation:

Philippine National Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org.ph/Site/PNRC/wtd.aspx

Catholic Relief Services: https://crs.org/donate/

Salvation Army: https://secure.salvationarmy.org/donations.nsf/donate?openform&t=PH_PHL

(Photo Source: AP)

Philippine Maritime Industry plus Philippine Politics is a deadly mix.

Last June 21, 2008, at the height of typhoon Frank (International name- typhoon Fengsen) the MV Princess of the Stars of Sulpicio Lines sunk near Subuyan Island in Romblon. Sulpicio Lines reported that of 825 listed passengers only 52 survived the tragedy.

Now, here comes the SuperFerry 9, within just about a year. AGAIN? What the!!!….

If you could still remember that the Philippine Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI), after the well publicized investigation, concluded that Sulpicio Lines and its captain were liable for the capsizing of MV Princess of the Stars. 773 human beings were lost!

BMI also reported the  lapses of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the MARINA, and also of PAG-ASA. It also listed immediate recommendations and courses of actions to the Professional Regulations Commission, MARINA, the shipping companies, the PCG, PAG-ASA, PPA, and local governments.

And the most important to me, the BMI pushed for the passage of a new Merchant Shipping Act to replace the current and quite obsolete laws. Several of our law makers tried but failed to answer this call. The Inquirer.net quoted Sen. Rodolfo Biazon:

The horrible frequency of maritime disasters in our country, where the ferry system is the major means of transportation between our 7,100 islands, is an indictment of our entire maritime industry and the government regulators and lawmakers.

He blames his own branch of government for having failed all these decades to pass strict laws to reform the maritime industry.

I remember a special report of the Manila TImes last July 06, 2008: Why are bills to reform the maritime industry not being attended to?

The article summarized several bills that were filed with several committees. There were 7 bills filed. But we never heard of them since and here is what the special report says:

The lone local bill among the seven bills on maritime industry, Rep. Thelma Almario’s HB 4357 which was filed June 11, 2008, two days before Congress adjourned sine die on June 13, is still pending for first reading.

The big question is why the bills on the maritime industry are moving at a very slow pace and are almost static.

Is it because some members of the House of Representatives are owners of shipping lines and the measure might affect their business?

This is the 64-million-dollar question that needs to be addressed soonest.

With the sinking of the Super Ferry 9, I really don’t know what else is needed for our elected officials to reform the Philippine maritime industry. And with that multi-million-dollar campaign capabilities, I really don’t know if we, as a Filipino Nation, are still capable of electing the right leaders.

This coming election, please remember what the few hundred bills inside an envelope may cost us in the future.

(Article Sources: Inquirer.net, manilatimes.net, wikipedia.org, ufs.ph)

(Photo Sources: AP, Rueters, AFP)

Let’s HANGOUT in Iloilo City and join the Annual International Coastal Cleanup!

The Ocean Conservancy is inviting everyone to join the Annual International Coastal Cleanup held on 2nd or 3rd weekend of September. This is a global effort to clean-up the coastline, rivers and lakes of trash and recording them for future references and studies.

The 2008 International Coastal Cleanup campaign gathered 400,000 volunteers from around the world and collected 6.8 million pounds of trash. The Philippines has been actively participating since 1994 in this annual global effort with 2,625,284 volunteers throughout the country.

There is no specific data about the clean-up activities in Iloilo city and province. But to give us some idea, here is the 2007 Ocean Conservancy Summary Report for the Philippines by ICC Coordinator Geronimo P. Reyes and Samuel Umandap:

In Philippines, 50,526 volunteers participated in the ICC, removing 250,973.9 pounds of trash and debris from 217.2 miles of shoreline. In addition, 721 volunteer divers participated in underwater cleanups, removing 6,999.8 pounds of debris from 31.5 miles of seafloor. 65.9 percent of the debris found in Philippines came from land-based activities like picnics, festivals, sporting events, and beach outings. Litter washed from streets, parking lots, and storm drains also contributed to this category.

Ocean and water-based activities offshore such as boating and fishing accounted for 17.9 percent of Philippines’s debris. Globally, 6.3 percent of collected debris came from ocean and waterway-based activities

Smoking-related products (cigarette filters, cigar tips, and tobacco packaging) accounted for 13.6 percent of the debris found in Philippines. Worldwide, these items comprised 33.6 percent of the six million pounds of debris collected.

Plastic bags top the list of debris collected.

To illustrate further some coastal area conditions in our country, here is a couple of pictures I grabbed from my friend’s facebook. These were taken during a bird population census last January of 2007.

photo source: kaakbay

Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup has thousands of volunteers and supporters. HANGOUT in Iloilo and  help clean-up Iloilo River and Coastal areas! 
To register: http://www.oceanconservancy.org

Areas already identified for clean-up in Iloilo and nearby provinces:

Parola-Quirino Bridge, Fort San Pedro-Ortiz, Sto. Nino Sur in Arevalo,

Nogas Island, Boracay Island

Brgy. Sampirit in Negros, Punta Ballo also in Negros

(Article and photo sources: oceanconservancy.org, apps.facebook.com)