Main fundraiser photo

SAVING LIVES ONE FISHING BOAT AT A TIME

**Please watch the videos as per your language preference. English video is linked above!

Tagalog video:
It will cost about $2,000 / fishing boat and our goal is to raise as much as we can to help rebuild the livelihood of these fishermen!


In less than a month, the island of Luzon in the Philippine Islands was battered by 2 strong typhoons. The first was Typhoon Storm (TS) Rolly (international name: Goni) that battered the provinces of Catanduanes and Albay on October 27 with sustained winds of 220 km/h (140 mph), and gust of 315 km/h (195 mph). TS Rolly was the strongest observed worldwide thus far in 2020 and one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record leaving a swath of devastation before exiting through the China Sea.

Following the heels of TS Rolly or exactly just 14-days after, TS Ulysses (international name: Vamco) made first landfall in Quezon province with maximum speed wind of 214 km/h (132 mph) and brought heavy rains in Central Luzon including Metro Manila. Heavy rains caused by the typhoon overflowed rivers, causing severe flooding in Marikina. As the typhoon crossed the country, dams from all around Luzon neared their spilling points, forcing the dams to release large amounts of water. As the Magat Dam approached its spilling point, all seven of its gates were opened to prevent dam failure, which overflowed the Cagayan River and caused widespread floods in Cagayan and Isabela forcing residents to evacuate on the roof of their houses. Some called the flooding “a hundred year flood” an incident with only 2% probability happening every hundred years.



However, even before the country learned of the flooding in Marikina which has been described as like TS Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) of 2009 and submerged a large portion of Isabela and Cagayan, TS Ulysses already wreaked havoc on the shorelines of Dingalan, Aurora.

The Municipality of Dingalan is a 3rd class municipality situated approximately 183 kilometres (114 mi) north-east of Manila with a land area of 304.55 square kilometers (117.59 sq mi). It is a small town with one main cemented road with branching alleys. The premier barangay north of the town is Paltic. All of the barangays are located on the seashore, except for Poblacion and two barangays located in the mountains. The whole town is mountainous due to the Sierra Madre Mountains thus, Dingalan has been called “the Batanes of the East”. Per 2015 census, it has a population of approximately 25,000.

With 9 of 11 Barangays located on the shoreline, fishing is a  major source of livelihood with tuna as among Dingalan’s popular fish products. The town has 1 feeder port and 1 RORO port.

The fisherfolks of Dingalan are accustomed to typhoons and storm surges and took precaution to protect their bancas from TS Ulysses. However, they were not prepared for 30 ft. (9 meters) of storm surge repeatedly pounding their shores literally lifting their boats berthed and secured on the shore and dumping them on top of their shanties. The following day, wreckage of their boats and shanties and all their worldly possessions covers the shoreline of Dingalan. Per initial report, 2,000 fishing bancas were destroyed.



Using whatever is left of their calamity fund and donations from various sources, the municipality of Dingalan has already ordered 10 bancas. My family together with some friends and colleagues has pledged funds for 2 bancas intended for fishermen Zaldy Sacare and Jesus Gonzaga, Sr. who were featured in the news report of Ms. Chiara Zambrano of ABS-CBN last 12 November 2020 (see attached). However, more is needed to purchase bancas and fishing gears. The Municipality of Dingalan, Aurora is making an appeal for help.





YOU MAY ALSO SEND DONATIONS TO THE MUNICIPALITY OF DINGALAN WITH THE FOLLOWING DETAILS:

**Please do send a screenshot confirmation of your donation to [email redacted]  if you choose to donate directly to the bank of the Municipality of Dingalan as we would like to keep track of donations for this specific fundraiser! :)

Account Name: Municipality of Dingalan, Aurora

Account No.: [phone redacted]62

Bank: Producers Savings Bank Corporation

SWIFT CODE: PSCOPHM1




Thank you very much for your generosity!

Organizer

Francheska Sumadchat
Organizer
Ontario, CA

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