ILIGAN CITY (PIA)--A total of 21 families here affected by the onslaught of typhoon "Odette" in December 2021 received relief aid from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) through its Revenue District Office (RDO) 101.
The distribution was held Tuesday, January 11, at the covered court of RDO 101, this city.
The recipients, identified by the City Social Welfare and Development Office, were from barangays Dalipuga, Buru-un, Upper Hinaplanon, Puga-an, Mandulog, and Digkilaan.
Each family head received a set of grocery pack and five kilos of rice depending on the number of his dependents. For instance, a family with five dependents got five sets of grocery packs and 25 kilos of rice. RDO 101 also handed over P500 to each family to cover their transportation expenses during the distribution.
Amanoding Esmail, Revenue District Officer of RDO 101, said the distribution is part of the community service of the Bureau to assist victims of calamities such as typhoon Odette.
He hopes that this simple gift-giving would somehow help ease the lives of those affected by the typhoon.
Amanoding Esmail, Revenue District Officer of RDO 101, explains that gift-giving is part of the community service of BIR to assist victims of calamities such as typhoon Odette. (Michael John Paclar/PIA Lanao del Norte)
"Odette" ripped through parts of the Mindanao and Visayas islands leaving a trail of devastation on its path. In Northern Mindanao, some barangays in cities of Cagayan de Oro, Gingoog, and Iligan experienced flooding. Three of the Bureau's RDOs are located in these cities.
"Ang BIR ay hindi lang magaling sa pangongolekta ng buwis kundi magaling din kaming tumulong sa ating mga kababayan na sinalanta ng mga sakuna na hindi kanais-nais gaya nitong typhoon Odette [The BIR is not only good at collecting taxes but we are also good at helping our countrymen who have been devastated by unpleasant disasters like typhoon Odette]," said BIR Revenue Region (RR) 16 Regional Director Emir Abutazil who witnessed the distribution.
Abutazil said RR16 received financial assistance from BIR Makati which were divided into the three RDOs. For Iligan City, he said RDO Esmail provided some augmentation funds to procure the rice and grocery items for the affected families. (APB/PIA-10/Lanao del Norte)
