THE BDO Unibank’s remittance office in Barcelona, Spain has organized a donation drive to the distressed victims of the Taal eruption by putting up drop-off boxes for Filipinos who want to donate in kind.
These donation boxes will then be delivered to BDO’s corporate social responsibility arm, BDO Foundation, in the Philippines for distribution to the affected areas.
Filipinos living in Barcelona are mostly from Batangas and Cavite, the areas that bore the brunt of the volcanic eruption.
Officers and staff of BDO Remit Spain have also visited Filipino communities in Barcelona, including Filipino Asian stores, restaurants, medical providers, clinics, freight forwarders, travel agencies and grocery stores to promote their donation campaign.
Tapping parish
The St. Agustin Parish in Barcelona tapped the parish community to spread the word on the said charitable efforts. They posted BDO Remit’s materials about the donation drive within the church premises and regularly announced during Sunday masses about the drop-off donation boxes were put up.
“We have already filled up the first box of donations and is now on our second box. More people are now donating and sending as a result of our info drive,” said Gerard Ian M. Belarmino, marketing officer in BDO Remit Spain. “We are receiving positive responses from our Kababayans for our efforts especially the waived fees for those who want to donate anonymously. Filipino community leaders are also grateful to us for accepting coin donations to be remitted to the Philippines.”
Local banks in Spain charge commissions for coin transactions. By remitting this through BDO instead, every Euro cent would be sent to the Taal victims. On Jan. 14, 2020, BDO waived its remittance fees on cash donations sent through the different BDO Remit offices abroad for the victims of the Mt. Taal eruption. The donation drive will end on March 31, 2020.
Cash donations sent through BDO Remit offices will then be coursed through different foundations namely BDO Foundation, ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc., GMA Kapuso Foundation Inc. and the Philippine Red Cross. In turn, these foundations will facilitate the purchase and distribution of relief goods in evacuation centers that temporarily house the Taal victims.
BDO has extensive remittance coverage across the globe, with overseas remittance offices and partners across Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.
Aside from the different BDO Remit offices, the Bank’s global remittance partners are also receiving cash donations for the benefit of the Taal eruption victims, including Remitly, Small World, WorldRemit, Azimo, United Arab Emirates Exchange Centre, and Xpress Money. Regular remittance charges apply. S