Memorial mass held in Spain for Sendong victims

Filipinos in Spain attended a memorial Mass at the Crypt of the Catedral Santa María la Real de la Almudena, seat of the Archdiocese of Madrid, for victims of tropical storm "Sendong" (international name: Washi) in the Philippines. Sponsored by the Philippine Embassy in Madrid on January 12, the Mass was also attended by Spanish friends of the Philippine embassy, a report of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.    Spanish friends of the Embassy also attended the Mass and offered sympathies and prayers to the victims and their families, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.   "The mass was celebrated by Antonio Astillero Bastante, the Episcopal Vicar, Dean and Parish Priest of the Crypt of the Catedral de la Almudena; and co-celebrants representing the Franciscan, Vincentian, and Augustinian orders," the DFA said.   Astillero also turned over the Mass collection amounting to €650 to the Embassy as financal donation to the relief and rehabilitation efforts.   In his remarks, Philippine Ambassador to Spain Carlos Salinas thanked the Archdiocese of Madrid for offering the Catedral de la Almudena as a venue for the Mass.   Salinas also expressed his sympathies to the Filipino community members in Madrid whose families were affected by the devastation caused by "Sendong." Meanwhile, Salinas thanked the Spanish government, which through the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional y el Desarrollo (AECID) donated €200,000 to the Philippine government to assist in rehabilitation work.   "Sendong" devastated Mindanao and Visayas in mid-December, leaving 1,257 dead and more than P1 billion in damage to property. - VVP, GMA News