The Catholic Church, through NASSA/Caritas Philippines, has released a total of P26 million from its local funds under Alay Kapwa to a number of disasters and emergencies in 2017.
Fr. Edwin A. Gariguez, NASSA/Caritas Philippines’ executive secretary, said: “The amount and the vastness of the contribution our Alay Kapwa solidarity fund has provided are a testament to how fast we can gather our resources and extend assistance to the most in need dioceses.”
The most recent humanitarian crises Caritas is supporting are the ongoing Marawi City response, worth P22 million, and the Mayon Volcano eruption with an initial aid of P5 million.
As a network, Gariguez said they have implemented programs in the most remote communities, highly vulnerable populations, and, in some instances, under the most challenging conditions.
“The figures provide us a glimpse of our capacity, as the national social action arm of the Catholic Church, to respond readily to the needs of our dioceses. These are also showing how we have developed in terms of competence and efficiency to implement and manage multi-donor responses,” the priest added.
In addition to the local funds, NASSA/Caritas Philippines’ overall humanitarian response portfolio in 2017 totaled P267 million from the Caritas International’s confederation and other funding mechanisms.
The amount assisted more than 69,000 families or 348,000 individuals affected by disasters and emergencies, Gariguez said.
The Catholic Church, however, is only complementing the efforts of the government and other organizations, the priest said.
“We do not wish to be doing the work of the government especially. We fully recognize that our role is only to provide additional assistance. However, we cannot close our eyes to the pressing and severing needs of our people. Where others fail, we do our share,” he added.
NASSA”‹/Caritas Philippines is the humanitarian, development and advocacy arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
It serves as secretariat to the 85 diocesan social action centers in the country and represents the Philippines to the global confederation of Catholic charities.