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| Mr. Huang Guojie of Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Jerry Cua of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Associations of the Phil.; Dr. Henry Lim Bon (FFCCCII); Wilson Lee Flores, moderator of Pandesal Forum of Kamuning Bakery Café; Anson Tan of the Overseas Chinese Alumni Association of the Philippines |
MESSAGE of
DR. HENRY LIM BON LIONG,
President,
FFCCCII
December 21, 2021 10:00 a.m. Kamuning Bakery Cafe, Quezon City
Our friends in media; friends,
ladies and gentleme
First of all, advance Merry Christmas to all, let us always be hopeful, no matter what storms we face.
We the members of the Filipino Chinese community are very much saddened by the massive damage caused by super typhoon ‘Odette’ in Visayas, Mindanao and Palawan. Many of our countrymen and fellow Filipinos were left homeless. And we also extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.
Kami ay nakikiramay, kami ay nakikidalamhati.
It will definitely take time to recover from this calamity and rebuild the communities, but we know that the Filipino nation’s willpower and resilience are stronger than any typhoon or calamity.
Today, 11 major Filipino Chinese business, civic and cultural organizations of the Filipino Chinese Community Calamity Fund (FCCCF) have raised 12 Million Pesos to help the typhoon victims in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
These are the 11 organizations behind this philanthropic effort:
1. Our organization, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. and FFCCCII Foundation Inc.
2. Federation of Filipino-Chinese Associations of the Philippines;
3. Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry;
4. Overseas Chinese Alumni Association of the Philippines;
5. Filipino-Chinese Amity Club;
6. World News Daily;
7. Filipino-Chinese Shin Lian Association;
8. Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of the Philippines;
9. Philippine Soong Ching Ling Foundation;
10. Philippine Jin Jiang Shen Fu Zhen Association;
11. World Fujian Youth Federation of the Philippines
We have raised 12 Million Pesos to assist the typhoon victims.
Immediately, we asked our member chambers in the regions to assess the calamity situation and coordinate with LGUs so we can extend expeditious help to the most adversely affected communities.
We have allocated 10,000 relief packs for Bohol; 10,000 relief packs for Cebu; 10,000 relief packs for Negros Occidental (Hinigaran, Kabankalan, La Carlota, Sipalay, Hinupaan, Himamaylan and other areas); 5,000 relief packs for Southern Leyte and Western Samar; 2,500 relief packs for Negros Oriental; 2,500 relief packs for Surigao province; 300 relief packs for Surigao City; and 200 relief packs for Cagayan de Oro City.
Each relief pack that costs 400 Pesos, each pack contains rice, canned sardines, and instant noodles.
In support of the government’s programs for the recovery and rehabilitation of the affected provinces, we will continue to extend relief assistance to alleviate the plight of our countrymen. We shall appeal to our member organizations to help in rebuilding these communities and the local rural economies.
Aside from this, our Filipino Chinese Community Calamity Fund has also earlier since 2020 and up to this year raised P300 Million Pesos for our COVID-19 relief efforts to bernefit all regions of the Philippines.
We have donated hundreds of thousands of face masks; KN95 masks; PPEs; safety googles; face shields; medical gloves; thermal scanners; alcohol; rice; canned sardines; noodles; vitamin C and vitamin C with zinc; ventilators, and other medical supplies nationwide.
Our group also made a donation to the country’s biggest COVID-19 testing laboratory and equipment of the Philippine Red Cross in Port Area, Manila.
Our COVID-19 relief efforts have reached our frontliners, healthcare workers, barangays, hospitals and communities, urban and rural poor areas across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
In overcoming the effects of super typhoon “Odette,” we in the Filipino Chinese community once more express our solidarity with our fellow Filipinos as our nation rises again from this calamity.
Nakikiisa kami sa buong bayan sa pag-asa at sa pagbangon natin muli. Huwag tayo mawalan ng pag-asa.
This Christmas, let us help spread hope, unity and help in whatever way we can to support the victims of super typhoon “Odette” and also to the victims of this global pandemic of the past 2 years.
Many people have been asking me about our Philippine economic growth forecast for next year. We’re very hopeful and optimistic of strong Philippine economic recovery next year with a GDP growth of 6.5% or even higher in 2022, because the Philippines has positive macroeconomic fundamentals, we now have much better modern infrastructures, we also have the solid bedrock of social stability and national unity. 2022 shall be a good year for economic recovery of Asia, most especially for the Philippines, let us work hard and unite for a prosperous new year.
Amidst the pandemic and super typhoon, let’s continue to work hard and work together so we can achieve strong economic and public health recovery.
Patuloy po tayong magsama-sama, magkaisa at magtulungan upang ating malampasan itong nagdaang kalamidad at ang COVID-19 pandemic.
Taos puso kaming nagpapasalamat sa inyo. Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon sa ating lahat!
Thank you and God bless us all.
