Residents in the Barangays of Calumpit (Bulacan) and Candaba (Pampanga) municipalities in Central Luzon, Philippines were elated with joy, when they received relief goods from PCC NSW (Philippine Community Council of NSW) on November 2, 2011.
Calumpit and Candaba, severely devastated by typhoon Pedring last September, were chosen by the PCC NSW Board to receive aid from the PADER Program (Philippine Australia Disaster Emergency Response), which provides emergency relief assistance to victims of natural disaster in Philippines & Australia.
750 bags of relief goods consisting [several] kilos of rice, noodles and sardines were packed by the Regional Program Coordinator and team. The goods were distributed at Collegio de Calumpit, and Candaba St. Andrews School in coordination with the respective school’s Principal. Families were issued a ticket to claim one bag of relief goods.
PCC NSW President Marivic Manalo, who coincidentally was in the Philippines, supervised the delivery of the relief aid ensuring a fair and orderly distribution. She was assisted by Maharlika Riders, Manila Chapter in handing out the goods to the famished typhoon victims.
Funding of the relief assistance came from the proceeds of PADER’s “Lift Off” fundraising concert staged last October 14, 2011. Though the fundraising earned far below than expected, the generosity of those who supported significantly provided a few days subsistence to hundreds of families in Calumpit and Candaba.
The PADER Program since its establishment in 2008, has been well responding to urgent calls of victims, whenever natural disaster occurs in Australia and Philippines. But as the Program doesn’t have regular source of income, funding constraints somehow delays and constricts assistance delivery. For broader humanitarian service and quicker emergency response, PCC NSW targets to enhance [its] PADER Program, by instituting a PADER Working Committee to manage its operations, and to forge long-term income generating projects.