TanHoldings, TSL help with Rota relief

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, fourth from left, receives a $50,000 check from TanHoldings Corp. and its charitable arm, the Tan Siu Lin Foundation, as the company’s donation coursed through the Commonwealth Advocates for Recovery Efforts. The money will be used to help the people of Rota that were affected by Typhoon Mangkhut last week. (Jon Perez)

TanHoldings and its charitable arm, the Tan Siu Lin Foundation, gave a shot in the arm to Rota’s recovery efforts with a donation of $50,000 coursed through the Commonwealth Advocates for Recovery Efforts.

CARE president Alex Sablan said their group would do the same thing they did three years ago when they helped facilitate Saipan’s recovery efforts after Typhoon Soudelor

“[TanHoldings president] Jerry Tan, in support of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ call to support the people and recovery effort on Rota, agreed to contribute $50,000 from TanHoldings and [TSL] Foundation, which will be managed by CARE in the delivery of material vouchers to help rebuild homes on Rota,” Sablan told Saipan Tribune.

Torres said the money would help the people of Rota obtain materials and other supplies that they would need to rebuild.

“It’s 10 times harder in getting supplies and other goods to Rota. The cost of materials there is much expensive. I honestly feel that the $50,000 is going to go a long way. Hopefully, we could purchase materials here and bring it to Rota. The administration will be a partner by at least paying for the shipping. Thank you and the people of Rota appreciate your efforts,” said Torres.

Tan, in a brief message, remembers how it was for Saipan three years ago. “It was three years ago when we experienced Typhoon Soudelor. I remember I was here with the late governor Eloy Inos and we did a [fund] drive called Project Ayuda.”

“Unfortunately, we live on an island, for every couple of years sometimes, we experience disasters like that. But one thing about living here in the Commonwealth is we don’t forget our neighboring islands—even though we spend most of our time on Saipan.”

Tan said this time Rota was the one that was hit the hardest. “Whether it is the Northern Islands, Tinian, and in this case—unfortunately—Rota got hit the worst. Since last week, I’ve been eager to find out the extent of the damage. But, like the governor said, it is not easy in trying to get help to Rota because of the limited flights.”

Tan said the donation aims to help the people of Rota affected by Mangkhut get back on their feet. “We’re very happy to do our part in helping our brothers and sisters on the island of Rota. We’re glad to be of help, so we appricate everybody’s efforts and the one that took place last Saturday at the Garapan Fishing Base.”

“I know that this is a community-wide effort. So at TanHoldings and TSL, we’re just doing our part, along with everyone else in the community. We want Rota to recover quickly and we want to minimize their suffering. We all experienced the aftermath of [Soudelor] and we don’t want to see the people of Rota suffer for a long period of time.”