Pinoys raise funds for children of Fil-Am couple killed in US tornado

Members of the Filipino community in the United States are reaching out to the three children left behind by a Filipino-American couple killed in a tornado in Cape Charles in Virginia last week.

The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. said Filipino-American organizations in New Jersey are raising funds for the family of Lord Balatbat and Lolibeth Ortega.

Balatbat and Ortega, residents of Jersey City, were killed after a twister tore through the Cherrystone Family Camping and RV Resort in Virginia. Their 13-year-old son was injured.

According to the embassy, monetary donations will be collected by organizations on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 275 West Side Avenue in New Jersey.

Organizations in the fundraising include the Philippine American Friendship Committee, Inc., Bayanihan Club of Union NJ, FILAID Foundation, Garden State Filipino American, Inc., Jersey City Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce, Knights of Rizal Union County Chapter, Pan American Concerned Citizens Action League, Inc., and the United Federation of Fil-Am Educators.

Meanwhile, Fil-Am Community Action Group Chairwoman on Hospitality Nora Dorsey and her husband Larry visited Lheandro, the couple's son who remained comatose at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughter in Virginia.

The embassy also identified another Filipino-American identified only as Jenelyn, 20, who sustained serious injuries from the tornado.

"She recently underwent surgery for numerous fractures," it said.

Deputy Consul General Zaldy Patron of the New York Consulate General also visited survivors of the tornado on behalf of Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr. and Consul General Mario de Leon.

Meanwhile, the embassy said there will a viewing and eulogy for Balatbat and Ortega on Saturday, from 10 to 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Jersey City.

A Mass will follow at before the burial at the Holy Name of Jesus Mosaic. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News