Bishop Patricio Buzon called on the Christian faithful in the Diocese of Bacolod on Friday, July 29, to help the victims of the magnitude 7 earthquake that jolted Abra and other parts of Northern Luzon on Wednesday.
“Let us pray in solidarity with our suffering brothers and sisters and let us lend our support to them who are in dire need,” the bishop said.
Buzon called on all parishes and chaplaincies in the Diocese of Bacolod to organize a second collection this Sunday, July 31, for the Alay Kapwa fund to be sent to the affected communities through Caritas-Philippines.
“Please channel all your donations to the Diocesan Social Action Center or the Diocesan Treasurer’s Office,” he said in Circular Letter 2022-19 sent to all parish priests, parochial vicars, chaplains and rectors of churches, superiors of seminaries, institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life, heads of schools and lay associations and the Christian faithful of the Diocese of Bacolod.
“As we live up to our being a synodal Church, we walk together with our brothers and sisters who are in need of help because of the destruction brought about by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake,” the bishop said.
Badly hit areas in Northern Luzon are the Diocese of Abra, the Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk (Kalinga), Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia (Ilocos Sur) and the Diocese of Baguio, he said.
“In response to this cry for help from our brothers and sisters in northern Philippines, the Diocese of Bacolod, through its Diocesan Social Action Center, is participating in the ‘Solidarity Appeal for the Dioceses and Families Affected by the Abra Earthquake’ by the CBCP, Alay Kapwa and Caritas-Philippines,” Buzon said.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Friday that 19,486 families or 79,260 individuals were affected the earthquake.
Five people were confirmed dead, 116 were injured, 1,535 houses were damaged and 48 were destroyed, the NDRRMC added.*
