Philippine Red Cross: Building Lives amidst Disasters

Bloggers Conference: Chairman Richard Gordon reveals his accomplishments and goals for Philippine Red Cross

Our country the Philippines with its topographical location places our nation to the path where typhoons, flooding, earthquakes and other acts of nature are bound to happen. With over 20 typhoons plaguing our country each year with monsoon rains Philippines is prone to massive flooding that destroys houses, agricultural lands, properties and lives. 

Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has been around since 1947 officially but can be traced back to the revolutionary era. PRC is the country’s leading humanitarian organization that is committed to providing life-saving services and projects that uplift dignity of Filipinos most especially for the indigent people.

Philippine Red Cross is proactive in terms of protecting and saving lives whether there is a need for immediate first aid help at home or massive rescue effort for a flooded barangay, this organization is reliable in emergency cases when help is badly needed. 

Currently, Philippine Red Cross has 6 major public services which exemplify the fundamental principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement- voluntary service, humanity, impartiality, independence, unity, universality and neutrality.

1. Disaster Management Services 
2. Blood Services 
3. Safety Services 
4. Health Services 
5. Social Services 
6. Red Cross Youth and Volunteer Services

Philippine Red Cross under the leadership of Chairman Richard Gordon

A member of Philippine Senate, Richard J. Gordon is a passionate proponent of PRC being the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Sen. Gordon is much known as the ‘action man’ all throughout his public service career and has beaten epic obstacles in providing quality service in our disaster prone nation. 

Richard Gordon was elected governor of Philippine Red Cross in 1986. Under his leadership he has led successful relief operations, fund raising campaigns, rescue missions and rehabilitation projects. As the PRC governor, he was the action man on various epic disastrous events such as eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, landslides in Aurora Quezon in 2004 and stampede at the Wowowee show at PhilSports Arena last 2006 just to mention a few. In 2004 Sen. Richard Gordon took charge of the overall operations of Philippine Red Cross as chairman.

With a proven track record in public service that generated funds for 50,000 families affected by 4 typhoons in the last quarter of 2004, Richard Gordon was able to collate a massive donation from all over the world through the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) amounting to $3 million. This is by far a record in Philippine humanitarian groups.

 

 

Chairman Gordon’s vision for Philippine Red Cross

Today, PRC has acquired several specialized vehicles such as rescue boats, emergency ambulances, rescue trucks, cargo trucks, amphibians, payloaders and even hummer trucks.

For PRC chairman Sen. Gordon, the goal is to provide each local chapter with its own food truck, rescue vehicle and ambulance that are readily available during calamities. With this in mind, Chairman Gordon is committed to gather funds through innovative ways. One good example of this is when makers of Safeguard soap P&G Philippines approached for an advertisement project and campaign. 

He also shared on our Bloggers Conference last October 24 at the PRC Headquarters in EDSA, instead of having a good supply of this popular anti-bacterial soap he proposed an ex-deal to the tune of 11 million pesos which went entirely to PRC funds. 

Such creative way of gathering funds for Philippine Red Cross has been instrumental in acquiring necessary equipment and vehicles to be used during disasters. 

Another milestone under the belt of Sen. Gordon is the acquisition of the MV Sustina from Alaska. This gigantic ship has a massive space that can carry trucks and personnel across various islands around the Philippine archipelago. MV Sustina is a former $80-M US Navy prototype and was initially offered at $2-million but through Gordon’s perseverance PRC has already acquired the unit at a lower cost of only $1.75 million. MV Sustina was also eyed by the Philippine Navy but did not push through with its acquisition.

Sen. Gordon already confirmed that PRC has posted a down payment for MV Sustina and the earliest delivery date is by February 2016.

Another interesting fund raising project for Philippine Red Cross is the upcoming Million Volunteer Run wherein everyone is invited to join. This event aims to generate more funds to be utilized in purchasing more rescue vehicles and food trucks in line with Chairman Gordon’s goal of providing each local chapter with necessary lifesaving equipment as part of disaster preparedness plan.

The MILLION VOLUNTEER RUN will happen this December 13, 2015 all over the country from 6 to 10 AM. It also aims to promote humanitarian and heroic virtues among Filipinos regardless of age, creed or ethnicity.