House members to donate part of their salaries for Batanes quake relief

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have agreed to donate a portion of their salaries for relief efforts in earthquake-stricken Batanes.

During the House plenary session late Monday evening, Deputy Majority Leader Pangasinan Representative Christopher de Venecia manifested on the floor that a "signature sheet" would be circulated among House members where they can indicate the amount they would voluntarily contribute to be deducted from their salaries.

If all 300 congressmen would pitch in, the House is expected to raise at least P1.5 million based on the minimum contribution of P5,000 per lawmaker.

House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said he had talked to Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano about the Batanes fund drive, which he said has been the practice at the chamber whenever a district has been hit by a calamity.

"This voluntary effort on the part of the congressmen to contribute has been done in the past through salary deduction. This has been initiated for the benefit of the casualties’ loved ones and injured residents of Batanes," Romualdez said.

"The House of Representatives is going full blast in its donation drive to help the people of Batanes. To kick off the campaign, congressmen are donating a portion of their salary as their humble contribution to the relief operations,” he added.

Romualdez said that the amount they are expected to collect could be higher, as some congressmen are willing to donate P50,000 to P100,000 from their salaries.

The House on Monday evening also adopted House Resolution 139 calling to expedite the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the victims of the Batanes earthquakes.

House Resolution 139, filed no less than by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Majority Leader Martin Romualdez and Minority Leader Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr., also expresses the chamber's sympathies and condolences to the victims of the calamity.

Romualdez also asked the Legislative Security Bureau (LSB) to reserve a portion of the South and North Wing Lobbies of the Batasang Pambansa Complex to serve as collection and storage area for goods donated by House members and employees for the earthquake victims.

“That is why I requested our LSB to allocate space at the North Wing and South Wing lobbies to serve as collection and storage areas for donated goods,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez also said lawmakers are willing to donate relief goods collected from their staff and other House employees, which would be turned over to Batanes Representative Ciriaco Gato Jr. for distribution to appropriate agencies tasked to deliver them to the province.

Apart from food packs, Gato's office said Batanes residents struck by the earthquakes are in urgent need of hygiene kits, wet wipes, mosquito repellents, reusable eating utensils, generator sets of water pumping stations and portable toilets. —KG, GMA News