Press Release
July 20, 2009

Gordon leads turnover of Red Cross homes in Iloilo

Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) Chairman and Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind.) will lead the turnover of 149 Red Cross homes to beneficiaries in the Province of Iloilo on Tuesday, July 21.

The homes that will be turned over are part of around 15,000 homes constructed by the PNRC for families who had lost their houses during natural disasters. On Monday (July 20), the PNRC turned over 423 homes as part of the 603 shelters constructed for beneficiaries in the Province of Aklan.

"In line with our mission to alleviate human suffering and uplift human dignity, the Philippine National Red Cross is committed to helping our fellow Filipinos who have suffered from disasters. We cannot replace all that they have lost but at least we can help them up as they start again," Gordon said.

In 2008, the Province of Iloilo was placed under a state of calamity after Typhoon Frank battered the country. Most of Iloilo's 42 towns were heavily affected and thousands of families lost their homes.

The PNRC immediately responded to the needs of the victims. In Iloilo alone, they provided 91,000 liters of clean water that benefited 2,938 families, distributed food and non-food items that benefitted 15,940 families. The 149 homes that will be turned over on Tuesday is part of the 1,057 shelters constructed in 19 municipalities of Iloilo.

The PNRC had been in the forefront of helping the victims of major disasters and emergencies that hit the country such as Ginsaugon, Southern Leyte landslide, typhoons Reming, Milenyo, Winnie, Yoyong, Unding, Violeta and the on-going Mindanao conflict.

The Red Cross under Gordon's leadership has completed a total of 15,012 homes, of which about 6,634 families benefited from full shelter kits and the remaining 8,378 were from roofing kits given by the PNRC.

Apart from raising funds for the acquisition of housing materials, Gordon secured the assistance not only of the international aid agencies and other foreign governments but also of the Philippine and US military in transporting the materials.

In partnership with the Australian Aid (AusAid), Cruz Roja Espanola (Spanish Red Cross), European Commission Humanitarian Aid, Agencia Espanola Cooperacion Internationale and International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the PNRC was able to provide shelter to the most vulnerable.

A total of 5,600 homes were built in several towns in the province of Camarines Sur. A total of 2,640 homes were built for victims of Typhoon Yoyong. A thousand families who lost their homes in the towns of Bacacay, Legaspi, and Manito in Albay were provided with 600 full shelter kits and 400 roofing kits; another one thousand families in the towns of Bato, Virac, and San Andres in Catanduanes were provided with 600 full shelter kits and 400 roofing kits.

The Red Cross also built 822 homes in Aurora Province, 827 homes in Isabela, and 802 in the towns of Mulanay and San Francisco in Quezon Province.

About 500 homes were likewise built in Casiguran, Prieto, Diaz, and Gubat, Bacon District in Sorsogon; 802 in Baco, Bulalacao, Calapan, Naujan, and Victoria in Mindoro Oriental; 802 in Buenavista, Mogpog, Sta. Cruz, and Torrijos in Marinduque; and eight out of the initial 24 housing units in Lanao del Norte.(

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