Only 20% Of Cash Pledged to the Philippines After Yolanda Has Been Received — a Measly $12M
Can these numbers be real? They don’t seem right. If this is true it’s very, very disturbing.
Rappler and other outlets are reporting that two months after Typhoon Yolanda (International Name Haiyan) ripped through the PHilippines, international promises of aid are failing to materialize, with only 21% of the cash that was promised actually reaching the Philippines. This is a pattern that mimics what happened in Haiti, where years after the earthquake, only a little more than 50% of the pledged cash has been received.
The Philippines’ Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (FAITH) says the international community pledged P2.8 billion ($63.418 million) in cash and P20.998 billion ($475.56 million) in non-cash items. Of the cash pledges, the country has received P592.58 million ($12.337 million). That’s only 21.16% of the money vowed by the rest of the world.
Folks, think about those numbers. Only $12M in cash has been received. That’s about 1/10 of what it takes to make one studio movie.
“What we heard them say at the height of the Yolanda relief operations versus what you see them now delivering by way of cash, there’s a big disparity,” Budget Secretary Butch Abad said.
Very upsetting stuff, but can’t say I’m surprised.
Share this:
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Michael,
It is horribly alarming; but it also does not surprise me ! I am in Canada (since 1997). In our discussions here, when talking about how to send donations from here to the Philippines, we had to send most of what we have collected direct to the victims. Not through the governments , nor “big agencies”. We contacted people we know in the areas affected and directly sent our collections !!
Michael, thank you for your postings, I am getting a good picture of what’s going on. More power to you !
Sincerely ,
Art Gonzales
London, Ontario, Canada