Press Release
October 12, 2009

Senate cancels Christmas party to donate to flood victims

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile announced today that the Senate will cancel its annual Christmas party in light of recent natural calamities that hit the country. Instead, the Senate will donate the funds intended for the festivity to help the victims of said calamities.

"I commend our Senate employees and the Secretary of the Senate herself for being among the first to suggest, even as I was already preparing to announce it, to cancel our scheduled Christmas party and, instead, to just donate the budget for the Christmas celebration to the typhoon and flood victims," Enrile said in a speech during this morning's flag ceremony that marked the Philippine Senate's 93rd anniversary.

The Senate President also thanked the Senate employees for being "staunch supporters" of the senators in their legislative work. "To you we owe the long hours of labor that we put into our daily tasks in our hope to render no less than exemplary service to our country and fellowmen and to respond to the call for us to act with dispatch to address the most pressing needs of the people."

Earlier, Enrile disclosed that the Senate, through his discretionary funds, donated P500,000 each to ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc., GMA Kapuso Foundation, and the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) to support their ongoing efforts to provide immediate relief assistance for the typhoon victims. Aside from that, the Senate welfare fund of P120,000 was also donated and divided amongst the three (3) organizations.

"The loss of lives and extensive damage to property caused by typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng, and Quedan require immediate actions and cooperation from all fronts in providing relief assistance to our countrymen and we know that these organizations have the appropriate machinery to provide such," Enrile said.

Enrile, on behalf of the Senate, expresses condolences to the relatives of those who perished due to the calamities and said the Senate would look into possible legislation that will help strengthen the government's disaster preparedness program.

The amount collected by the Senate Public Assistance Center (PAC) will also be used to purchase goods for the barangays, which are in dire need of assistance as identified by the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Typhoon Ondoy.

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