BIR, Red Cross reminders: Pablo donations tax-deductible

By Che Palicte
CORPORATIONS and institutions were encouraged yesterday to continue giving donations to the thousands of victims of freak typhoon Pablo in the Davao Region as these donations are deductible from their income tax.
Lawyer Aileen A. Lizada, member of the board of directors of the Philippine National Red Cross Davao City chapter, showed newsmen a copy of the memorandum of Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) commissioner Kim Henares on the tax deduction.
At the same time, Lizada said private companies and institutions are enthusiastic about the move of the Davao City Red Cross to form a partnership between the sector and the government on a mechanism for a swift assistance in case the city encounters a calamity.
Lizada said the partnership is necessary as this can be tapped either for preparedness training as well as when a calamity occurs.
During the first partnership meeting last December 21, representatives of diverse private groups expressed their interest in the idea and are looking forward to a series of future meetings so the partnership can start.
Ms Lizada said that among those raring to start are participants from culinary schools, bakery and transport groups.
“This may be funny to some, but chefs are important during disasters,” she explained, saying that food is very necessary both to responders as well as to those affected by the calamity.
Chapter administrator Rogelio Aca said the chapter is also setting up a mobile kitchen that will be deployed to disaster-stricken area in case of a calamity. “Someone has donated the facilities of the kitchen,” he said.
The two officials pointed out that kitchen is among the basic necessities in times of disaster. “In this situation, we need the help of schools (offering culinary courses) as well as bakeries,” said Lizada.
She pointed out that everyone in the community must join the partnership because he or she has a role to play in times of disaster. “We must not be caught flatfooted,” she said.
She added that the chapter has also strengthened its partnership with the city government so that holding preemptive measures and addressing disasters will not meet any problem. “We have a very good partnership with the city government,” said Lizada who once served as the city’s tourism operations officer.
The chapter, the point of coordination for the typhoon Pablo, has sent about 200 of its volunteers to areas stricken by the typhoon that hit the Davao Region on December 4, helping in the rescue and in providing assistance to those in need.
Mr. Aca said the chapter has volunteers with different competencies needed in areas affected by the calamity. “We have even volunteers in charge of providing psycho-social help,” he added.
The chapter is also being helped by chapters of the International Federation of the Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross as countries like Switzerland, Germany, Spain and Japan have already sent their volunteers.
This developed as Lizada called on corporations to continue contributing to the organization as their contribution will be deducted from their taxable income. “We need their help,” she said.