MANILA, Philippines - The social arm of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday said that it will temporarily shift its focus from relief operations to Burma and China to the provinces in the Philippines recently devastated by typhoon 'Cosme.'
Elvie Manalanzan, project coordinator for relief and rehabilitation of the CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) said that they will prioritize first our own problem before minding an international problem.
Dahil tinamaan tayo ng calamity, mas priority natin yung sa atin. Bago magbigay for Myanmar and China, i-settle din muna yung mga pangangailangan dito," Manalanzan told reporters.
She said Nassa is now collating data with their local counterparts in the affected areas of typhoon Cosme and that only the province of Zambales was able to coordinate to the national center.
Yung sa Lingayen, Baguio City, La Union and other areas affected inaayos pa natin yung data. But yung sa Zambales, we are already coordinating with our partners and donors," Manalanzan said.
She said they will continuously assess the situation in the affected areas, mostly in the regions of Ilocos, Cordillera and Central Luzon.
Most of the relief goods that are being prepared are rice products, canned goods and noodles, according to Manalanzan. - GMANews.TV