BY CHRISTINA I. HERMOSO
Caritas Manila, the social action arm of the Archdiocese of Manila, has warned the public against scammers using its name to raise funds supposedly for calamity victims and survivors.
In a statement, Rev. Fr. Anton Pascual, executive director of Caritas Manila said, some scrupulous individuals are taking advantage of the situation and posing as Caritas volunteers to solicit funds via fake accounts.
“Beware of fake donation drives,” Pascual said.
“Let us help our fellow Filipinos and not take advantage of the calamity. Let us keep spreading the charity virus,” Pascual said in a Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines News post.
Caritas Manila is currently accepting donations for the victims of the recent typhoons that devastated several parts of the country.
Pascual said financial assistance for calamity survivors may be deposited in official bank accounts.
“Our official fundraising partners are also using the same bank details and not their personal accounts,” he added.
Caritas Manila also announced that its COVID-19 charity response in partnership with “Project Ugnayan” has reached P1.7 billion.
Project Ugnayan is a fundraising initiative led by the country’s leading corporations and business families in cooperation with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation. It is headed by Ayala Corporation President and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala.
“The project tapped the vast network of parishes and volunteers under Caritas Manila to distribute gift vouchers that can be redeemed in nearby groceries to poor communities in Metro Manila and nearby areas,” Caritas Manila said.
As of September, more than P1.3 billion worth of gift certificates have been given out to 1.3 million poor households in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna. This has benefitted 1,909,153 families or 9,611,835 individuals.
Caritas Manila also gave out an additional P318 million worth of food and non-food items to vulnerable groups and service front liners.
Interested donors may send help through Account Name: Caritas Manila, Inc. to the following peso savings accounts: BDO 000-5600-45905; BPI 3063-5357-01; and Metrobank 175-3-17506954-3.
For dollar deposits, BPI savings account 3064-0033-55 or USHARE Unionbank savings account 3064-0033. Donations are also accepted via Paypal and all Cebuana Lhuillier branches. (Christina I. Hermoso)
