21 November 2013 - The Office of the Thai Prime Minister organized a telethon in the evening of November 13 to raise funds for the victims of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).


The telethon was held at Studio 1 of the Thai Public Broadcasting Services (TPBS) station in Bangkok. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra formally opened the telethon, which was attended by other Thai government officials, CEOs and representatives of various Thai private companies and members of the Royal Thai Government.  After one hour and 45 minutes, the telethon raised around 83.4 million baht or roughly US$2.813 million.

At the opening of the telethon, a number of Thai business conglomerates and Thai Government officials presented specimen checks representing their respective cash donations, with Philippine Ambassador Jocelyn Batoon-Garcia witnessing the ceremony. Among the donors were: CP Group, AIS Thaicom, Thai Beverage,  Krungthai Bank, Government Savings Bank, the Thai Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Information and Communications,  Stock Exchange of Thailand, Thai Tobacco, The Government Lottery Office, Thai Ministry of Interior, Office of the Permanent Secretary for Defense, Royal Thai Armed Forces, Royal Thai Army, the Royal Thai Army Radio, just to name a few. 

Thai TV and movie celebrities and top government officials including cabinet ministers volunteered to man the telephones. From 8:30 p.m. up to the end of the telethon, the phones kept ringing as Thais all over the Kingdom demonstrated an outpouring of support and concern for their Filipino friends. END