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Church sends immediate aid to Leyte victims
21 February 2006 – he catastrophe that hit St. Bernard, S. Leyte is a call for everyone to be concerned, said Fr. Juanito Figura, acting Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
As the bishops declared 2006 as a "Social Concerns Year," CBCP President Angel Lagdameo of Jaro earlier said that the disaster in Southern Leyte is "our challenged towards this end."
Last weekend, the CBCP President has enjoined the Social Action Directors of every diocese to coordinate all efforts and resources under the headship of the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA) and collaborate with Bp. Precioso D. Cantillas of the Diocese of Maasin.
"In this desperate time when immediate help and assistance is necessary, we urge donors to donate cash assistance because it will take NASSA a relatively longer period of time to transport goods in the affected diocese, and this could put the welfare of the victims and survivors on hold," NASSA said in a statement.
Elvie Manalansan, NASSA Relief and Rehabilitation coordinator, said many of their local and international partners have signified to support their relief operations.
NASSA has already sent an initial 150 sacks of rice to St. Bernard as part of its relief operations.
Figura said that the bishops gratefully appreciate and heartened by the support, gestures and sympathy that come from both within and outside the country.*
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