Catholic Church appeals for flood aid for Mindanao

Catholic Church officials in Mindanao appealed to the public to send emergency aid to residents affected by floods caused by continuous rains in the past weeks. In an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas on Wednesday, Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said the livelihoods of many residents have been affected because vast rice fields have been flooded. “We are appealing for donations to buy the needs of those who are in the evacuation centers for a week already. I also urge donors to generously support priority needs such as mosquito nets, medicine, clean water and food," Bagaforo said. Excerpts of the interview were posted on Wednesday on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news site. The CBCP noted that incidents of diarrhea, pneumonia and other upper respiratory diseases have been recorded among the evacuees. The CBCP cited an initial report from the archdiocese’s Disaster Management Committee showing around 10,000 families have been affected by the flooding in Cotabato City alone. Data from the Civilian-Military Operations Office of the 6th Infantry Division also showed about 396,738 people (62,349 families) are affected by recent heavy rains and floods in Sultan Kudarat, Cotabato and Maguindanao. Bagaforo attributed the flooding in several parts of Mindanao to the piling up of water hyacinths at a portion of the Rio Grande de Mindanao, blocking the flow of the river. Meanwhile, Cotabato Archdiocesan Social Action Center Director Fr. David Procalla said nearly 400,000 people from 17 towns of Maguindanao have also been affected by the floods. Lambayong town in Sultan Kudarat province likewise had 1,697 families or 8,485 people affected by the disaster, the CBCP said. - VVP, GMA News