The House leadership on Monday night agreed unanimously to donate a portion of their salary for relief operations in Batanes, which was rocked by deadly earthquakes early Saturday morning.
It was House Deputy Majority Leader and Pangasinan Rep. Christopher de Venecia who manifested before the plenary about the “signature sheet” that shall be circulated for House members where they can write the amount of their voluntary contribution to be deducted from their salary.
“I just spoke with the Speaker (Alan Peter Cayetano) about the Batanes fund drive. It (contribution) has been the practice whenever a district is hard-hit by a calamity, in this case Batanes. This voluntary effort on the part of the congressmen to contribute has been done in the past through salary deduction. This has been initiated for the benefit of the casualties’ loved ones and injured residents of Batanes,” said House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez after discussing the matter with Cayetano.
“The House of Representatives is going full blast in its donation drive to help the people of Batanes. To kick off the campaign, congressmen are donating a portion of their salary as their humble
contribution to the relief operations,” said Romualdez.
At the same time, the plenary on Monday night adopted House Resolution (HR) No. 139 expressing the “profound sympathies” and “deepest condolences” of the House of Representatives to those affected by the twin earthquakes and aftershocks that rocked Batanes.
The principal authors were Cayetano, Romualdez, and House Minority Leader and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, Jr.
The congressmen also called on the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and other relevant organizations to expedite humanitarian assistance and restore normalcy to the affected
areas.
Likewise, Romualdez requested the Legislative Security Bureau (LSB) to allocate a portion of South and North Wing Lobbies of Batasan Complex, which could serve as collection and storage area for donated goods from congressmen and House employees for Batanes earthquake victims.
“That is why I requested our LSB to allocate space at the North Wing and South Wing lobbies to serve as collection and storage areas for donated goods,” said the Leyte solon.
With 300 congressmen, the House is expected to raise at least P1.5 million based on minimum contribution of P5,000 per congressman.
“This is just the minimum amount pegged by the House resolution. The contribution may even reach P3 million up to P5 million as some congressmen have indicated willingness to donate P50,000 to P100,000 from their salary,” Romualdez said.
Aside from the contribution from their salary, Romualdez said congressmen have also expressed interest in donating relief goods collected from their staff and other House employees.
“The donated goods will be turned over to Batanes Rep. Ciriaco Gato, Jr. for distribution to appropriate agencies which are tasked to bring them to the province,” he added.
Romualdez said the public may also send their donation through Rep. Gato’s Chief of Staff, Atty. Rachel Derigay, who may be contacted through mobile number 09985548060.
The office of Rep. Gato has identified urgently needed items in Batanes which include: hygiene kits (sanitary napkins, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, hand towels, etc.); wet wipes; mosquito repellants; reusable eating utensils; gensets for water pumping stations; and portalets.
