The Philippine Star (Manila)
Thursday, February 12, 2004

Cuban-American to walk across RP for Red Cross

                  A Cuban American pastor will do the "Walk of Love" for 26 days from Iloilo to Manila and from Dipolog City back to
                  Iloilo to raise funds for the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC).

                  Rev. Danny Garcia, 58, will start his 674-km. Walk of Love on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, from the Iloilo Provincial
                  Capitol grounds to campaign for donations, the PNRC announced in a statement.

                  "Walking is my special ministry and as long as there are children suffering all the world I will not stop walking," says
                  Garcia, a former US marine.

                  Garcia the walking pastor has walked over 32,000 kilometers all over the world to spread the word of his love and
                  concern for the children of a world too often torn by war and strife.

                  Last year Garcia walked from Ground Zero in New York to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and to the
                  Pentagon, both in Washington DC, to mark the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.

                  In December 2003, he walked 134 kilometers from Estancia town in northern Iloilo to Iloilo City in four days to raise
                  funds for the pediatric ward of a government hospital in Iloilo City.

                  This month’s Walk of Love will be Garcia’s second for the PNRC. His first walk was from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to
                  Manila, held Nov. 29 to Dec. 8, 2000.

                  In 2002 he walked from Manila to Santiago, Isabela, then on to Baguio City and back to Manila in support of the "Give a
                  Life" project of the Philippine General Hospital’s pediatric department. The project earned six incubators for PGH.

                  Garcia started his so-called walk ministry in December 1996 after going through a harrowing divorce. He has since
                  walked all over the United States and Australia, and in countries in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.

                  In June 2001 he walked from Jordan to Israel and on to Egypt to call for world peace. It was during this walk where he
                  met his second wife, Rosalina Acedera of Northern Samar.

                  In this upcoming walk, Garcia will be accompanied by a team of Red Cross officials and volunteers, He is expected to
                  arrive in Manila, passing through the route of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway, on Feb. 28.

                  The first leg of his journey will bring him to 34 towns in Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Mindoro, Batangas, Cavite and Rizal. From
                  Manila, the party will take a plane to Dipolog City, where he will again walk starting March 4 to Iloilo City passing
                  through Negros Island.

                  PNRC chapters will receive the donations raised from their respective areas, according to Raul Garganera, PNRC
                  administrator and walk organizer.

                  Garcia said he will walk also to help boost the country’s tourism industry because he will be sending a message to the
                  world that the Philippines is a safe place to visit.

                  Born in Spanish Harlem in New York City in 1945 to Cuban parents, Garcia joined the US Marines at the age of 17.

                  After his tour of duty, he worked for Shell Oil’s public relations department until 1972 when he reentered the Marines
                  and served for another four years.

                  The walking man has a psychology degree from San Diego City College in 1976, and for 20 years until 1995 he served
                  in different law enforcement positions in San Diego.