Mayor leads LCP fund-raising campaign for typhoon-hit cities

BACOLOD City – As the national president of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia is leading the “aggressive fund-raising campaign” of the League to help member-cities badly hit by super typhoon “Rolly” and typhoons “Quinta” and “Ulysses.”

“The key is in the campaign,” Leonardia said during an online meeting Monday [Nov 23] of the LCP Special Committee for Typhoon Ulysses where they initiated a fund-raising campaign to help member-cities affected by the recent calamities.

Leonardia said they will focus their fund-raising campaign among cities in the Visayas, Mindanao, and some parts of Luzon, which were not affected by the recent typhoons.

“There are a lot of unaffected cities that can help. We can also appeal to compassionate individuals and those people who make it their personal mission to help those in need of assistance,” Leonardia said.

The LCP Special Committee aims to raise enough funds by December 11, to be presented to the LCP board by then for a decision on how it is to be distributed.

In her report, LCP Secretariat executive director Atty. Shereen Gail Yu-Pamintuan said President Rodrigo Duterte had placed 74 cities under a state of calamity.

At least 59 cities were hit by Typhoon “Ulysses,” while 17 cities were “triple-hit” by Typhoons “Quinta,” “Rolly,” and “Ulysses,” she added.

For his part, Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City suggested that the beneficiaries of the campaign shall be the cities with the highest number of displaced families.

Mayor Arnan Panaligan of Calapan City, whose city was not struck by the recent typhoons, said, cities spared from these calamities should have a sense of generosity to help other cities hit by these typhoons, and heed the LCP call for help.

The LCP Special Committee for Typhoon “Ulysses” is set to ask help from their vice presidents for Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and the National Capital Region (NCR) in contacting fellow mayors around the Philippines. The rest will contact the regional representatives for assistance.

The special committee is composed of LCP secretary-general Mayor Arnan Panaligan of Calapan City as chairperson and members – LCP treasurer Mayor Antonio Ferrer of General Trias City; Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City, Focal Mayor for Environment, Climate Change and DRRM Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City; and Atty. Shereen Gail Yu-Pamintuan, executive director of the LCP Secretariat.

Other members are Ilyne Rose De Castro, LCP deputy director for Admin and Finance; and Ma. Veronica Hitosis, LCP deputy director for Policy, Programs, and Projects.