Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Marie Rafael, together with Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Cordillera Regional Director Helen Tibaldo, meets with Police Regional Office Cordillera (PROCOR) Director Chief Supt. Rolando Nana on January 3 to finalize preparations for the shootfest fundraising event on January 5 and 6 at the regional police’ headquarters. (Photo courtesy of Redjie Melvic Cawis/ PIA-CAR)
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- A two-day fundraising shootfest is set on January 5 and 6 at the Police Regional Office Cordillera (PROCOR) firing range with the proceeds to be given to the victims of Typhoon "Rosita" (Yutu) in the Mountain Province.
“Some relatives went home to the province during the holidays and saw how the residents have yet to recover from the devastation of Typhoon Rosita in November,” Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Marie Rafael told Philippine News Agency on Friday.
She said they thought of the fundraising event sometime December and immediately scheduled it, considering the gun ban which will take effect on January 13.
“We know that there are many shooting enthusiasts and we know they will help that is why we decided to have the shootfest as a fundraising event for our townmates in Mountain Province,” added Rafael, who served as Mayor of Natonin town from 2007 to 2010. Natonin bore the brunt of the typhoon, racking up a high number of casualties.
"Even our old folks have to fetch water from afar where the sources are because the PVC pipes that used to bring water from the mountains to the residences were cut-off and damaged,” Rafael said.
She appealed for shooters and supporters, relatives as well as friends, to support the cause by participating in or by donating to the event.
Rafael added that the opening will be preceded by the conduct of a “Daw-es” a cleansing ritual practiced in different parts of the Cordillera, particularly for members of the media who covered the devastation left by typhoonsn Rosita and Ompong in Itogon in September.
“I believe in these rituals and I practice them. I know how media work and the dedication they give to their jobs and I thought that it would be proper to also do the ritual for the sake of the media practitioners who were on ground zero from day one until the end,” she said. (PNA)
