Coast Guard calls for donations for typhoon-hit families

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Sunday called for donations for families affected by Tropical Storm Ofel (international name: Usagi) and Super Typhoon Pepito (international name: Man-Yi), with several areas now under tropical cyclone wind signal (TCWS) 5.

In an advisory, the PCG said it is accepting in-kind donations at its headquarters in the Coast Guard Base Farola Muelle Dele Industria Compound in Binondo, Manila, through its Civil Relations Service. Perishable goods and used clothes are not accepted at the moment.

Among the donations being accepted are drinking water, noodles, canned goods, alcohol, bath and laundry soap, diapers, medicines, dental hygiene kits, 3-in-1 coffee packs, rice, biscuits, face masks, and blankets.

This comes as TCWS 5 is still raised over the eastern portion of the Polillo Islands, as Pepito maintained its strength late Sunday morning. Lower wind signals are also raised in more areas.

Pepito was last seen 120 kilometers east southeast of Baler, Aurora, with maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, and gustiness of up to 230 kph. It was moving northwestward at 20 kph.—Jon Viktor Cabuenas/RF, GMA Integrated News