Visayas earthquake relief

LAST UPDATED 16 Oct 13

photo from Reuters.com

In light of the recent earthquake that hit Visayas with the force of approximately 32 Hiroshima bombs, relief efforts have begun all over the country.  The earthquake has already tragically claimed upwards of a hundred lives, and those who survived are definitely in need of a helping hand.  That said, below is a compilation of drop-off points for relief goods, channels for all types of donations, and ways that people can contribute to the dissemination of important information.
Rappler.com is also maintaining a list of means of helping out and they revise it as more information comes in, so for additional updates, please visit their page.

Any contributions to this list are highly appreciated, especially in the form of information on sites accepting relief goods, donations or volunteers in your area.  Email me or leave a comment on this post.

Philippine Red Cross

• The Philippine Red Cross accepts donations year-round for disaster relief.  They recently sent assessment and rescue teams to Bohol and Cebu to help evaluate the damage there and assist local government in rescue missions.  Visit the Philippine Red Cross donation page to find ways to donate through PayPal, UShare (Union Bank), or GreenPeso (Globe GCash, BancNet) as well as via bank deposit or check.  You can even donate via SMS in small increments (as low as Php5.00 for Globe and Php10.00 for Smart subscribers).

Laging Handa

• The Ayala Foundation Laging Handa channel accepts donations via credit card (VISA and MasterCard for card holders in the Philippines and abroad) and Globe GCash.

Sagip Kapamilya

• Sagip Kapamilya of the ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc accepts donations in cash or in kind.  Their warehouse is in Quezon City.  They have accounts with Banco de Oro, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Philippine National Bank and MetroBank, and Citi Mobile for SMS.

Twitter

• The following hashtags are being used to identify Tweets related to relief efforts and updates on the situation: #ReliefPH #RescuePH #EarthquakePH #RescueBohol

• Important, especially for rescue requests: make sure that your Tweets are not protected so that Red Cross, Move PH and other concerned organizations can read them.  You can change this under your privacy settings.

Lastly, be wary of where your donations are going.  There have been reports of donation scammers claiming to represent Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda and Secretary Ricky Carandang.  Click through for details and contact information to report these people if you encounter them.

In the aftermath of a disaster like this, every little effort counts.  If you know of a local site for relief efforts, please comment with details and your location and if possible, any relevant contact numbers.  You can also help by sharing the links above or this whole post with your friends, family and anyone who might want to contribute to the earthquake relief.