JOHN HOLMES, United Nations undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, disclosed on Tuesday that the international appeal for help for victims of Typhoon Ondoy has already attracted a total of some $44 million.

Holmes, who is in the country to personally witness and monitor the concerted response to the strong typhoon that ravaged Metro Manila and other regions and killed more than 300 people, said the UN flash appeal has received pledges amounting to $19 million so far.

The appeal, which is aiming to raise $74 million for victims of Ondoy, was launched in order to solicit immediate support to the government in its ongoing effort to respond to the needs of the typhoon victims.

Outside the call, Holmes said another $25 million has also been pledged by international private donors and agencies.

He said he expect that more aid will come.

House OK’s P12B for rehab, relief

AT the House of Representatives, crossing party lines, congressmen approved on third and final reading on Monday night House Joint Resolution 48, authorizing the use of the unprogrammed fund under the 2009 national budget in an amount not exceeding P12 billion for the relief operations, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and other works and services to areas affected by natural calamities.

“Certainly, the House of the people responded quickly to the situation. As I have said, there is no minority or majority when national interest is at stake,” House Speaker Prospero Nograles said after the adoption of the resolution.

The joint resolution only needed five minutes to be approved after it was taken to the plenary through House Committee on Appropriations chairman, Liberal Party Rep. Junie Cua of Quirino, and Lakas Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay, the committee’s vice chairman.

“We will now send the measure to the Senate for action,” Cua said, noting the joint resolution was approved without any opposition.

House Deputy Majority Leader Juan Edgardo Angara, meanwhile, called on the House leadership to consider approval of House Resolution 1433, urging House members to donate P1 million of their  Priority Development Assistance Fund, or pork barrel, to storm victims.

“Donating a portion of our pork barrel is a good idea…extraordinary situations require extraordinary measures,” Angara said, as he expressed support to the resolution filed by Kampi Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Cavite. The resolution is still pending at the House Committee on Appropriations.

More donations from US arrive 

ANOTHER $250,000 (P12 million) worth of relief supplies arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport before noon on Tuesday onboard a chartered flight of Emirates Sky airline.

The donations of relief supplies to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) were in response to the crisis caused by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

US Chargé d’Affairés  Leslie Bassett said the chartered plane carrying some 50,000 pieces of sanitary soap, thousands of hygiene kits containing laundry and toiletry, including plastic water containers, for the victims of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

The assistance was provided in coordination with the government, through the US Agency for International Development’s Office of Foreign Assistance.

“We continue to work closely with the Philippine government and relief organization, and to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to help the people affected by the recent storm,” Bassett said.

This donation is in addition to the $4 million that USAid provided in grants to various relief organizations and previous donation of relief supplies worth $400,000 to the Philippine National Red Cross, she added.

In addition to the donation to IOM, medical teams consisting of US and Philippine military personnel have been providing medical assistance to flood victims at the evacuation centers.

US military personnel also brought food, clothing, water and other needed supplies and equipment, such as bulldozers, cargo trucks, transport vehicles and heavy-lift helicopters, to assist with relief efforts, Bassett said.

She added that US military personnel are also helping in reief and rehabilitation efforts throughout Metro Manila and Northern Luzon as part of the ongoing cooperation between the US and the Philippine governments to assist and provide sanitation among typhoon victims at the different evacuation centers.

Holmes seeks help for ‘Pepeng’ victims

AT the same time, Holmes recommended that the UN Flash Appeal be amended, and that its call should include assistance for victims of Typhoon Pepeng, which mauled the Ilocos region and the Cordilleras, killing more than 300 people, most of them in landslides in Benguet and Baguio City.

Glenn Rabonza, Office of Civil Defense administrator, told reporters that the “repetitive disaster” has affected a total of nearly 7 million people.

Rabonza said the immediate challenge for the government is to provide coordination in the relief efforts while “jump-starting” the recovery phase of the disaster response.

He said Ondoy, which affected a total of 25 provinces, forced the evacuation of more than 216,000 people, while Pepeng, which hit 27 provinces, ejected 18,263 people out of their homes.

Ondoy severely affected Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Region 4-A, while the Cordilleras and Regions 1, 2 and 3 were hit hard by Pepeng.

Rabonza said that as of Tuesday, a total of 682 fatalities have been recorded for Ondoy, while Pepeng killed 544 so far.

He said the two typhoons have damaged a total of more than P17 billion in infrastructure and agriculture, and the amount does not still include the houses and other possessions that were damaged or lost in Metro Manila.

Holmes assured that the aid which is being pooled and gathered for Ondoy’s victims will go to its intended beneficiaries.

Currently, he said, the typhoon victims need food, water, shelter, clean sanitation and even livelihood for those who are in the early phase of their recovery.

Holmes expressed his solidarity and sympathy with the affected residents, as he visited some areas in Metro Manila on Monday.

He said the UN will see what it can do more for the victims.

While the relief is being hastened, UN officials said the reconstruction should also set in, especially for those who have lost their homes.

International finance agencies have already expressed their desire to partner with the UN and even with the Philippine government for this undertaking.

Rabonza said the next focus of the government is how to reduce the spate of disasters in the country, with its programs already detailed in the Strategic Risk Reduction Roadmap.

He said some P22 billion has been appropriated for this program under the 2008 budget, but he doubted whether the amount gave a fair estimate of what is “being looked at as an investment in disaster reduction.”

GMA visits La Trinidad

PRESIDENT Arroyo flew early Tuesday to the badly damaged La Trinidad in Benguet, some 265 kilometers north of Manila, to lead the distribution of additional relief items to more than 2,000 families.

At the Poguis Elementary School, where the wake of fatalities is being held, some 100 women cried upon seeing the President, who paid her last respects to their departed beloved.

Nearby, some 300 policemen and Philippine Military Academy cadets continued to search for fatalities.

A total of 189 bodies have been recovered from Benguet province, 96 of whom were retrieved in La Trinidad. With PNA