Blood center, housing units turned over

the PRC inaugurated the PRC Northern Cebu branch in Bogo City.
CDN PHOTOS/JUNJIE MENDOZA

Bogo gets P14M Red Cross branch, Displaced Remigio families receive housing units

Residents in northern Cebu specifically the local governments of Bogo City and San Remigio received an early Christmas gift from the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Friday — the inauguration of the PRC Northern Cebu branch in Bogo City and the turnover of the housing units of Typhoon Yolanda victims in San Remigio.

The two-storey, P14-million PRC Northern Cebu branch will not only be the headquarters of Red Cross volunteers assigned in northern Cebu, but also it will have a modern blood bank.

“Aside from it, we will also donate ambulances for Bogo City. Our branch in northern Cebu will accommodate Cebuanos in the north and they don’t need to travel further south to Cebu City to avail health services,” said Senator Richard Gordon, the PRC chairman who headed the delegation of PRC and International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and Crescent Societies during Friday’s activities in northern Cebu despite the area being placed under Storm Signal No. 1 by the weather bureau because of tropical storm “Urduja.”

The PRC Northern Cebu office will open on January next year.

Aside from the new PRC Northern Cebu office, Gordon and his group turned over the housing units to at least 100 families, who were Typhoon Yolanda victims in a relocation site in Barangay Poblacion, San Remigio town.

The housing site, which is a 9,000-square meter lot in the barangay, also has a P2.3-million barangay health unit office, targeted to be operational also on January next year.

Mayor Mariano Martinez of San Remigio town said that he was grateful for the efforts of the Red Cross and encouraging his constituents to take care of the housing units provided to them for free.

“This is a proof of cooperation between all sectors of the community. We, the local government of San Remigio, donated the lot. Red Cross provided the construction materials for the houses, and now it’s time for the beneficiaries to take care of them,” said Martinez.

Aside from Gordon, Oscar Palabyab, PRC secretary general; and Chris Staines, IFRC head of delegation, were also present during Friday’s turnover ceremonies.