BANTAYAN Mayor Ian Escario confirmed the legitimacy of a nongovernment organization’s (NGO) work in helping families in his town that had been hit by Supertyphoon Yolanda in Nov. 8 last year.
“So far they are very professional. I’ve seen their work. They had given plenty of houses in partnership with Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH). It’s impossible they are not legit. They have foreign donors,” the mayor said in a phone interview.
Escario said this after the Young Pioneer Disaster Response (YPDR) was accused by Sta. Fe Mayor Jose Engana of allegedly taking credit for rehabilitation projects done by other NGOs.
“Other NGOs won’t work with them if they are not legit. A Spanish medical team even came here.
They’re not exploiting money. So far, here in Bantayan, we have no problem with them,” Escario said.
In a phone interview, YPDR founder and president Christopher White said they have 20 volunteers in Bantayan Island and employed 40 local employees.
Accreditation
Escario said YPDR built 40 houses made out of coconut lumbers and bamboo. “What was said (by Sta. Fe Mayor Jose Engana) is inaccurate and untrue,” White said.
White said they presented their papers to the Cebu provincial government more than a month ago for accreditation but they haven’t received any reply. He also mentioned that YPDR was even accredited as an NGO in the US.
White said YPDR is operating in Bantayan Island for four months and a half now with 200 volunteers from 30 countries around the world. /by Irish Maika R. Lam, Xavier University DevComm Intern