5,000 pairs of tsinelas donated to Yolanda victims

Many survivors of super typhoon Yolanda lost nearly everything, including the slippers on their feet.

But soon several thousand of them will be wearing brand-new flip-flops, courtesy of luxury brand Havaianas, just one of many companies giving away their products to disaster victims.

The brand's local distributor donated 5,000 pairs of flip-flops or tsinelas to Operation Blessing Foundation Philippines in their Pasig City main office. The NGO will then ship the flip-flops to residents of Bantayan Island, Cebu, where it is also conducting alternative rehabilitation programs for Yolanda victims.

Flip-flops may seem like a frivolous donation, given the magnitude of the tragedy, but since Yolanda swept away the homes and belongings of at least three million people, every donation helps in restoring a sense of normalcy for people in the provinces hit by the typhoon.

Underwear, another item taken for granted, was collected by a pair of donors last Monday for Yolanda survivors. In a 24 Oras report, they said underwear should always be included in the list of items to donate, since they are barely mentioned in any calls for aid. Breast milk, a vital commodity, is also being donated to the victims by concerned mothers.

While local donations of clothing are allowed, an administrative order by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in 2010 strictly prohibits the donation of clothing from international sources to "safeguard the health of the people and maintain the dignity of the nation".

This AO has been noted by the Philippine Embassy of the United Kingdom in their notice for donations regarding Typhoon Yolanda, in which it repeats the notice regarding used clothing.

This prohibition isn't the only thing that discourages donations of clothing from other countries. Previous experiences of profiteering from relief goods have made several Filipino Americans wary of donating clothes or even cash, with some noting that fake organizations used the disaster for their own personal gain.

Yolanda-birthed online scams have indeed sprung up in the wake of this disaster. "Nigerian letters" exploiting the tragedy have circulated in emails, which tricks recipients to investing in a fake operation. Websites of legitimate agencies are also being copied by suspects, which uses the donors' credit card information to make unauthorized purchases and payments.

National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division chief Ronald Aguto said on 24 Oras that these scams are commonplace during disasters such as Yolanda. They are now verifying the legitimacy of these scams with other agencies. — Rie Takumi/BM, GMA News