ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Over 7.7 million dollars for aid to victims of the typhoon: The Church guarantees transparency

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Manila (Agenzia Fides) - The phenomenon of corruption is always latent: for this reason the Church of the Philippines ensures transparency in the management of over $ 7.7 million in humanitarian aid received to help the victims of typhoon Haiyan (locally called Yolanda). This was stated by the Commission for social action, justice and peace within the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. In a note sent to Fides, Fr. Edu Gariguez, Executive Secretary of the Commission, said that "all donations for relief operations are subject to strict and effective mechanisms of control". "The issue of transparency on donations to the victims of Yolanda - he said - is crucial: we have our own monitoring system", recalling one of the problems afflicting the nation: corruption.
Often the mechanisms of corruption, he stressed, find fertile ground regarding funds coming from abroad in cases of natural disasters.
This phenomenon becomes even more "horrible" because it harms and subtracts aid to people who are already suffering due to the disaster and are struggling against hunger and poverty. Therefore transparency is fundamental: this is why "also the funds donated to the Church are controlled by external audit firms that follow international standards". The Church of the Philippines is looking after the reconstruction in nine dioceses affected by the typhoon in November 2013, which caused the death of 6,200 people and 2,000 went missing. About four million people were left homeless. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 25/03/2014)


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