Filipinos starting ongoing relief fund

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Filipino community here is creating a permanent relief network to help victims of calamities, an idea leaders hope will outlive the drive to help families suffering through a recent series of typhoons.

The Philippine province of Quezon was hardest hit last week by Typhoon Yoyong, the fourth and fiercest storm in a season considered the worst the country has endured in years.

Community leaders are accepting monetary contributions (see box), and met last night to plan drop-off points for donations of needed items, said state Rep. Felipe "Jun" Abinsay, D-29th (Kalihi, Sand Island).

"The Philippine government has mentioned food, used clothing, sleeping bags, medicine and eating utensils are needed," Abinsay said.

Some people already have brought such items to the Philippine Consulate, said Rolando Gregorio, Honolulu's consul general.

But the real planning centers on how to conduct a continuous charity drive through a new network, one that can turn sporadic fund-raising efforts into a permanent rallying point for Hawai'i Filipinos, Abinsay said.

It would not be the first time that a lasting relief fund was established. In 2001, after a typhoon slammed into Ilocos Sur, Isle residents who came from that province established the Ilocos Surian Association of Hawaii, said Abinsay, who serves as the group's adviser. The association still maintains a calamity fund in Vigan, the provincial capital, he said.

But now the hope is that a new relief agency could be founded that would address natural disasters throughout the Philippines, Abinsay said. This would be another example how Hawai'i Filipinos have, in recent years, set aside provincialism in favor of initiatives with a national scope, he said; the completion of the Filipino Community Center two years ago was another.

As a beginning, the Ilocos Surian group has approved an initial $1,000 donation to the Typhoon Yoyong drive, he said. And after its first organizational meeting last night, the new relief network is aiming to find projects that could make a lasting difference in the recovery of the victims.

"Our effort is not so much about addressing the immediate need; we want to build their lives after this," Abinsay said.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.

HOW TO HELP

The Filipino community here is organizing a new network to run ongoing relief efforts for the seasonally storm-ravaged Philippines. But for now, checks can be made out to American Red Cross and sent to: Filipino Community Center Inc., 94-428 Mokuola St., Suite 302, Waipahu, HI 96797. Information: 680-0451.