UPDATE: local group finally ready to send relief money to Philippines

WINNIPEG – A Filipino community group in Winnipeg says it is poised to finally send tens of thousands of dollars in donations to the Philippines to provide aid for typhoon victims, weeks after collecting the money.

The Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba (PCCM) faced criticism from some community members who expressed frustration Wednesday that the organization was still sitting on the money.

PCCM president Lito Taruc told Global News the group is now ready to send $72,416.53 to the SM Foundation’s Operation Tulong relief effort, which has been sending relief to areas hard hit by Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013.

Global News reported Wednesday that money raised since the November 2013 disaster was still sitting in Winnipeg. Taruc told Global News the PCCM was waiting for matching funds from Ottawa.

But that’s not how the aid program works, a federal official said.

“The Typhoon Haiyan Relief Fund is separate from the funds raised by charities and will be administered separately by the government of Canada,” a spokesperson for International Development Minister Christian Paradis wrote in an email to Global News Thursday. “This means that a charity declaring the amount of eligible donations raised does not receive a matching dollar from the government of Canada. For every eligible dollar donated by individual Canadians to registered Canadian charities, the government set aside one dollar for the fund.”

Taruc acknowledged the mistake and said his organization is now ready to send the money. He said part of the delay also involved waiting for money pledged to actually materialize.

The delays and confusion left some members of the Filipino community frustrated.

“Since the money is still in Winnipeg and hasn’t been sent to the Philippines, we still haven’t been advised as to which aid agency is the beneficiary,” Ron Cantiveros of the Filipino Journal said Thursday. “If they’re still looking for an aid organization, they can easily write a cheque to the Canadian Red Cross, World Vision, Doctors without Borders or even Shelter Box tomorrow.”

The Mennonite Central Committee said when disaster strikes, money must be sent immediately.

“Where people are actually lacking basic essentials of survival — food, water, health hygiene — then the response is really urgent,” Ron Janzen said Wednesday. “You reply as rapidly as you can.”

The PCCM has had ongoing structural and financial problems. The organization owed almost $50,000 in back taxes to the City of Winnipeg last October.

In 2009, an audit was ordered by the board. It cost $12,000 but four years later there’s still nothing to show.

Taruc said he inherited many problems when he became president but asked the community to be patient with the organization. He said he’s determined to deal with these problems, including getting the money to the Philippines.