Press Release
August 25, 2009

Korean Red Cross donation will give relief to RP's
poor schoolchildren - Gordon

Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind.) today welcomed the P860,000 worth of school supplies and toiletries donated by the Korean National Red Cross, saying it will go a long way in providing relief to the less fortunate schoolchildren in the country.

Gordon, also chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), said the donation will answer the needs of a large number of poor schoolchildren who could ill-afford to spend on school materials.

"The donation will be a big help to our countrymen who could hardly afford to eat three times a day, much less spend for these items," he said.

Korean Ambassador Choi Joong-Kyung, representing the Korean National Red Cross, handed over the donation during the welcome ceremony for the arrival of the Republic of Korea Navy Cruise Training Flotilla , which arrived at Pier 13 of the Manila South Harbor on Monday.

The Korean Naval ship's visit is part of the 60th anniversary celebration of the Philippine-Korean diplomatic relations.

"This will ensure that our less fortunate schoolchildren have some of the things they need in school, while the toiletries will help them stay healthy," Gordon said of the donation that came packed into 2,000 boxes, each containing a notebook, pencil, eraser, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and construction toy.

In line with his advocacy of addressing the critical condition of the country's educational and health care systems in the more than 43,000 public schools nationwide, Gordon filed Senate Bill 2402 otherwise known as An Act Creating the Health and Education Acceleration Program (HEAP) Corporation.

The HEAP bill proposes to require telecommunication companies to remit part of their multi-billion annual net revenue from local text messaging to augment government resources to fund the country's educational and health care requirements.

These funds shall be earmarked for the construction of classrooms, computer and science laboratories, clean cafeterias and school facilities for Filipino schoolchildren's holistic development; acquisition of books, desks, chairs and instruction materials; hiring of teachers, regular conduct of teacher-training programs, and augmentation of teachers' pay, among others.

News Latest News Feed