5 September 2005 – Philippine Ambassador to the United States Albert del Rosario today appealed to the members of the Filipino-American community to participate in a fund-raising drive for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

In this connection, the Ambassador said that the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D. C., and all Philippine Consulates in the United States are ready to receive cheque donations payable to the American Red Cross from the members of the community.

To kick-off this fund-raising, the Philippine Foreign Service officers and staff in the US are committed to donating a total amount equivalent to at least US$ 10,000.00 which will be matched by another US$ 10,000.00 in terms of a personal donation from Ms. Loida Nicolas-Lewis, president of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA).

All cheque donations received by the Embassy and the Consulates will be gathered and will be turned over to the American Red Cross as the collective donation of the Filipino-American community.

“In the true Filipino bayanihan spirit,” Ambassador del Rosario said, “the Filipino-American community’s participation in this fund-raising drive will concretely demonstrate its sense of civic duty, its humanitarianism and its commitment to be a positive force in American society.”

For transparency, the names of all donors and the corresponding amounts donated will be posted in the Embassy website (www.philippineembassy-usa.org).  The Embassy will also issue periodic public announcements to give a running tally of all donations received by all Philippine Foreign Service posts in the US.

Ambassador del Rosario said that this initiative is in addition to the Embassy’s efforts to rally the help of Filipino-American doctors and nurses from Texas and other states.  “We are currently working with the State Department in terms of how this assistance can be ‘embedded’ in the Federal Government’s system of relief and rehabilitation operations,” the Ambassador said.

Ambassador del Rosario also announced that the Philippine Government is preparing to send a team of doctors and sanitary engineers to assist in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in the hurricane-stricken areas.  This offer of support by the Philippine Government to the United States has already been publicly acknowledged by State Secretary Condoleezza Rice.  END