BAGUIO CITY— Different fund raising events will be held in this city to raise funds for the families of the Igorot policemen and soldiers killed in action in Marawi at the height of the government’s offensive against the Maute terrorist group.
Igorot is the collective name of natives of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Attorney Alexander Bangsoy, a businessman who spearheads the Cordillera Binnadang group, in an interview on Thursday said that aside from receiving donations from individuals and groups, they would also hold golf and football tournaments for a cause.
“Binnadang” a Kankanaey word, is a century-old practice of Cordillerans of extending assistance or help to families in times of death or suffering.
Kankanaey is the indigenous spoken language of people from the Cordillera specifically from the Mountain and Benguet Provinces.
The fund raising effort dubbed “Cordillera Binndang Fund Drive for Cordillera Marawi Heroes” was launched to assist the families of the eight killed policemen and soldiers from Cordillera, similar to what was done for the families of the 14 Igorot Special Action Force (SAF) troopers who died in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in 2015.
At present, Bangsoy said they had PHP80,000 deposited in a BPI account.
He noted that for the 14 SAF families, they were able to raise PHP2.5 million which they divided equally among the families of the fallen troopers.
The golf tournament will be held after the annual Fil-Am Golf Tournament on December 16 while the football tournament is scheduled on December 7 and 8.
“We have been doing the fund raising for eight years now and we are expecting more participants because this is for a cause. We will also be asking the mayor, office of the mayor and Baguio Country Club to co-sponsor with us,” Bangsoy said.
He said that donors of the Cordillera Binndang Fund Drive for Cordillera Marawi Heroes can deposit into the account 8123-0427-01 with swift code BOPIPHMM – the official account for the Binnadang fund drive.
A Facebook account will also be created for transparency and update on the fund drive. This will also be used to run stories of the Cordilleran heroes.
The fund raising, Bangsoy explained, is an urgent assistance drive. “We decided that while there is a government aid, it will take time and there is urgency in assisting the families of the fallen government troopers,” he said.
Bangsoy explained that if they could get a substantial amount, they would have a partial release before Christmas and another one in January.
The fund raising campaign will run until January 2018, to be able to get enough funds for the families of the fallen Igorot fighters. (PNA)
