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MANILA - The non-government Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF) today launched HelpPH, a global campaign for donations made through mobile phones for the benefit of Typhoon 'Yolanda' survivors.
Through the campaign, mobile phone users from at least 40 countries can donate at most $10 a day by sending airtime load to PDRF through BayanLoad, a mobile money service of Smart Communications Inc.
For subscribers of Smart, Sun Cellular and Talk 'n Text, they may donate P5 by texting HELPPH to 5353. They may also donate in the following amounts -- P10, P25, P50, P100, P300, P500 and P1,000 -- by texting HELPPH to 5353. Other channels include money transfer through Western Union, i-Remit and over the counter transactions in all 340 Land Bank branches nationwide.
This fund-raising program will run beyond December 31, 2013.
'The unprecedented scale of the devastation inflicted by Typhoon Yolanda requires a global response. Through HelpPH, we are providing people all over the world the means to send help to those in greatest need through a few clicks on their mobile phones,' Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PDRF and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) said.
Pangilinan said the money that would be raised from HelpPH would be spent in coordination with the government's plan.
The government, through the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is drafting a reconstruction plan.
'To be honest, there is no dividing line as to where we start and where to end. What is clear to us is the victims cannot wait for the plan from the government,' Pangilinan said.
'I've heard some donors waiting on what is the plan. I don't know how long the government will formulate the plan. In the meantime, we cannot tell the victims 'why don't you wait until we have a plan.' We have to move even on a temporary basis, ' he said.
Pangilinan said Smart will provide second-hand mobile phones -- along with SIM cards and free load -- to some typhoon survivors.
'Some of the money that we have raised would be part of the load that will be included in the cellphones so that they can encash the load with the help of Land Bank ATMs,' he said.
Aside from HelpPH, the PDRF is also conducting a crowdfunding campaign through an online donation platform called ' Brick by Brick,' which has so far raised at least P10 million.
Donations to 'Brick by Brick' may be sent via PayPal, PasaBayad, and Smart Money.
'We've just been hit by one disaster after another, and we have to pool resources together in helping rebuild the lives of everyone affected by these disasters, ' Rene S. Meily, PDRF president said.
'Crowdfunding is now also a new way to involve everyone around the globe in responding and provide aid to people affected by these disasters,' he added.
As of Friday, PDRF already raised P7 million through its HelpPh campaign, while Brick by Brick generated P10.234 million and TV5's telethon, P40 million, excluding in kind donations.
The PDRF was organized in the aftermath of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, which flooded large parts of Metro Manila and Northern Luzon. It is composed of leading private corporations, foundations and non-government organizations dedicated to encouraging private sector participation and support for post-disaster recovery efforts.
InterAksyon.com is the online news portal of TV5, which like Smart is a member of the PLDT group.
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