A growing number of members of the House of Representatives have signed on to a relief drive for communities battered by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao, with the count now standing at 139 lawmakers, according to Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno.
Diokno said the pledges gathered from legislators have so far reached a combined ₱9.29 million, money intended to assist families displaced and injured by the June 8 tremor.
The quake, one of the most destructive to hit the country in decades, struck offshore near Sarangani province in the Soccsksargen region and was felt across wide stretches of southern Mindanao. State seismologists initially logged the event at a lower magnitude before revising it upward to 7.8. Tsunami warnings briefly extended beyond Philippine shores to neighboring countries in the hours that followed.
Government disaster monitors have recorded dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries, with several people still listed as missing as recovery operations continue. Tens of thousands of residents across the affected provinces have been displaced.
The pledges flagged by Diokno run parallel to a separate commitment from the Senate’s new majority bloc, led by Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian, whose members agreed to give up a month of their salaries for relief and rebuilding. That group has also pressed colleagues in the minority to take part, framing the disaster response as something that should cut across political lines.
Provincial governments and foreign donors have likewise moved to channel assistance to the hardest-hit areas, while national agencies were directed early on to mobilize rescue and relief operations.
