Better process

THE SERIES of earthquakes in SouthCentral Mindanao areas prompted both the local government units, the national government, civic organizations and other groups to provide assistance to those affected.

Of course, this is a very good development as people who have been reeling from the impact of the disaster really need help for them to survive. Anything of value that the victims can use, especially those intended for the children, must be accepted.

Other local government units, especially those that are either facing challenges or those that are far, set aside parts of their budgets to help the victims. And this is voluntary on their part as they also have their own struggles that they need to attend to.

Aside from civic organizations, groups that are also known to provide assistance during disasters are those that are connected to businesses, their so-called foundations. Although their assistance is badly needed like any other help from other groups, except for a few, many of them use these events to promote themselves.

The difference between the assistance provided by local government units and those from business groups is that donations from government are audited by their respective offices, while those from companies, especially those that they collect either from their customers or those who respond to their calls do not pass government auditing systems.

This is not to accuse these companies of unscrupulous activities, but there must be a better system that can be used to monitor donations either from government or other entities. In this way everything is monitored and every process is followed, especially in determining the value of help provided to victims so that people will continue to trust those who call for help for the poor.

Trust must be earned even in times of disasters.