In view of devastating calamity in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro recently set about by the typhoon “Sendong” (International name: “Washi”) in the evening of Dec. 16, 2011, members of Patnubay Online have been discussing ways through which help to the victims of this tragedy can be dispatched.

There are currently different large organizations and groups that are offering their services to reach out to our needy countrymen in these stricken areas. However after much deliberation between Patnubay members, the Philippine Red Cross was deemed as the most respected and most credible organization for this purpose.

Here is the Red Cross website specifically for donations to Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro:

http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow

For those who prefer to donate cash through the Red Cross, you can send your donations by credit card (online)  or by bank remittances.  Unfortunately, the credit card option is not available in Saudi Arabia because the location is not supported by the merchant.

The following are the list of banks and their corresponding banks account numbers, as seen in the Red Cross webpage:

Banco De Oro
Peso: 00-453-0018647
Dollar: 10-453-0039482

Bank of the Philippine Islands
Peso: 4991-0036-52
Dollar: 004994-0103-15

Metrobank
Peso: 151-3-041631228
Dollar: 151-2-15100218-2

 Philippine National Bank

Peso: 3752 8350 0034
Dollar: 3752 8350 0042

Unionbank of the Philippines
Peso: 1015 4000 0201
Dollar: 1315 4000 0090

All Check/Cash for the account of Philippine Red Cross (Swift Codes)
Banco De Oro
BNORPHMM

 Bank of the Philippine Islands

BOPIPHMM

Metrobank
MBTCPHMM

Philippine National Bank
PNBMPHMM

Unionbank of the Philippines
UNPHPHMM

FYI, according the Red Cross personnel we  talked to, there are no taxes for the donations thru credit cards. Whatever amount will be given is the same amount that will be received.

For those who want to send donations as goods in kind, such as blankets, medicines, clothes, canned food, etc., may we suggest for these generous kababayans to contact our Philippine Embassies and Consulates to establish drop-off areas for the goods. The Embassy/Consulate should be the one responsible for the shipment of these items.

Though goods in kind are also an absolute necessity in this situation, the ensuing lack of transparency in goods delivery makes it a liability especially for donations coming from abroad. The goods coming from generous souls overseas are vulnerable to abuse by unscrupulous individuals and are likely to get diverted to other purposes other than its original intent. We have no control over who handles the cargo of the goods and where it will actually be delivered.

We can send to goods directly to the Red Cross HQ office in the address given below:

RED CROSS NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

Bonifacio Drive, Port Area
Manila 1018, Philippines

As of 6:54 PM on Dec.18, death toll now reached 652 and is expected to rise. Sendong is on the way out of the country, affecting 8,000 families resulting in more than 35,000 people huddled in evacuation areas mostly in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro

This is truly a sad tragedy but this is also a time for us to join hands and unite for a singular cause.

Let us all do our share to help our countrymen in distress.

God bless everyone and God bless the Philippines,

Patnubay.org