Asian newspapers rushed to aid of ‘Yolanda’ victims

It’s a classic case of Asian unity at work.

Members of Asia News Network (ANN), of which the Philippine Daily Inquirer is one, immediately came to the aid of the victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” which wrought havoc across the Visayas on Nov. 8.

The ANN, whose 23 member news organizations exchange editorial content, this time shared their concern for the storm victims.

As of the latest tally, ANN, the largest organization of English-language newspapers in Asia, has managed to raise more than US$150,000, or P6.6 million.

The funds, part of which will be turned over to the Philippine Red Cross through the Inquirer, were officially handed over to Philippine Ambassador to Thailand Jocelyn Batoon-Garcia in ceremonies held in Bangkok.

“It’s very heartwarming to have a sense of community,” said Batoon-Garcia.

The Nation newspaper of Thailand raised more than $95,000 while Sin Chew of Malaysia gave $62,000.

“The Nation is part of the Asia News Network campaign which demonstrates the regional unity to support one another,” said Pana Janviroj, president of The Nation and ANN executive director.

Appeal for help

Pana got in touch with Inquirer publisher Raul Pangalangan on learning of the extent of Yolanda’s devastation and offered to initiate a fundraising campaign for the typhoon victims on the front pages of all ANN member newspapers.

The Inquirer then sent a print ad with an appeal for help for the storm victims to all ANN members through the Bangkok office.

ANN members from Vietnam, South Korea, Bhutan, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan also launched fundraising drives.

“The biggest lesson from the disaster is the need to have a mind shift. We now have to put into the national budget allocations for risk reduction, adaptation and mitigation,” Batoon-Garcia said of what needed to be done in the country.

She said there was also a need to review urban planning and focus on reconstruction which, she noted, may take around 10 years.

“We did not want to be an example but I guess it is so… that for those who don’t believe that there is something called climate change, to take a look at what happened,” she said.

Yolanda, known internationally as Haiyan, hit the central Philippines with a wind force never experienced before by man. It hit primarily the provinces of Leyte and Samar.

Hard-hit areas

Among the hard-hit areas were Tacloban City and the nearby towns of Palo, Tanauan and Tolosa in Leyte. In Samar, most ravaged were the towns of Guiuan, Basey and Hernani. Cebu, Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan and Palawan provinces were also hit though not as devastatingly.

At last count, at least 6,155 were killed while 1,785 remained missing.

Funds raised by Thailand’s The Nation came from the Dr. Thiem Chokwattana Foundation (Saha Group), Singer Thailand Co., IQ Food Products Co., Muang Thai Life Insurance Co. and the Nation Multimedia Group.

The Korea Herald and Kuensel of Bhutan also sent money through The Nation. Sin Chew, the leading Chinese language daily in Malaysia, raised $62,000 through the Sin Chew Foundation, which also took part in the relief work in the worst affected areas for more than a week.

Vietnam News donated to the Philippine Red Cross via the Vietnam Red Cross, while The Yomiuri Shimbun and its English newspaper, The Japan News, collected donations from the public through the Japan Red Cross.

The Straits Times of Singapore, The Star of Malaysia, China Daily and Jakarta Post have separate campaigns.

The National Press Club of the Philippines also joined the Yolanda relief effort, particularly assisting journalists displaced by the typhoon.—Adlai Noel O. Velasco

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