|
For what it's worth, I am Filipino-American. I grew up in the US but have returned to the Philippines in 2003. I have seen many things here and the opinion being mentioned by DWB and VDBucks don't really differ all that much from what the LOCALS themselves say.
Take the case of disasters. It is Standard Operating Procedure according to a friend of my wife's who works in one of the national government agencies here for local government and provincial officials to INFLATE damages so they can get more money from the national government. They did a review of the damage done by one of the storms and it turns out much of the loss of animal lives and damages were GROSSLY INFLATED. It is not uncommon for local leaders to inflate damage figures because it opens the floodgates to assistance. According to my source, this is part of the reason governors are so QUICK to ask for a calamity or other designation because it opens up the region to national govt funds.
With all this said, does this give rise to the conclusion that people SHOULD NOT DONATE AT ALL? Absolutely not. Donate but donate to LEGIT organizations like the Philippine Red Cross or United Nations Relief. Be more skeptical of NGOs and LGU-based units. My wife's other friend from UP Diliman works as a Foundation head here and she left her old job because the previous foundation she worked for left TONS OF RELIEF GOODS and FOOD to rot at warehouses because they'd rather get CASH.
It's okay to help. Just do so with your eyes open and you send it through legit means like the Red Cross. For example, the head of the church organization my wife and I are members of gather members' donations (in kind) and the president, a doctor, headed out to Bohol during the earthquake. We don't solicit donations from non-members. From my experience, these are the types of grassroots personal-level efforts that yield results.
|