BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Badly needed aid from various national government agencies and foreign governments have finally started to pour in for those displaced by super typhoon “Odette” in Negros Occidental
President Rodrigo Duterte, who visited the ravaged southern Negros on Monday, pledged P2 billion to each province directly impacted by “Odette”.
He also vowed to raise an additional P10 billion for recovery and rehabilitation efforts.
The President himself distributed relief supplies at the Kabankalan City Hall.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary Rolando Bautista, meanwhile, said they have already sent out to the province 10,300 family food pPacks worth P5.7 million.
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and the National Housing Authority were also given orders to provide housing assistance to those whose homes were either totally destroyed or partially damaged.
The national government, too, is actively checking on the water, electricity, fuel and other supplies, with the Department of Energy tasked to expedite the restoration of power in affected areas.
Vice President Leni Robredo also came over yesterday to lead the distribution of food packs in Kabankalan City. She inspected the city to further assess the damage.
Robredo was accompanied by actress Kris Aquino.
The Office of Civil Defense – Western Visayas, meanwhile, sent in relief supplies consisting of 50 house repair kits, 100 family food packs, and 500 hygiene kits.
The DSWD warehouse in the town of Oton, Iloilo also sent 800 food packs to Negros Occidental via the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship BRP Nueva Vizcaya (SARV-3502).
A team from the PCG’s Coast Guard District Western Visayas which were sent out to Sipalay City in Negros Occidental have also began their search and retrieval operations.
Various units under the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office are participating in the ongoing relief effort either by way of repacking supplies or distributing them to the affected residents.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, meanwhile, sent out 500 food packs to the province, along with 294 jerry cans which can be used as water containers.
Meanwhile, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China announced yesterday that they were sending 20,000 food packages valued at P8 million to all areas affected by the typhoon, including Negros Occidental.
Each food package contains five kilos of rice, 10 canned goods, and 10 noodle packs.
Aside from China, other countries such as France, the United Kingdom and the United States of America have also pledged aid.
As of yesterday afternoon, the official death toll from super typhoon “Odette” in Negros Occidental was at 34 with 88 injuries, and seven people still missing. Houses which were either destroyed completely or damaged partially reached 93,756.
Total losses in the province were pegged at close to P6 billion.
Negros Occidental governor Eugenio Jose Lacson declared the entire province under a “state of calamity.”/PN
