By Filane Mikee Cervantes | Philippine News Agency
President Rodrigo Duterte said the government is ready to provide the much-needed assistance to the victims of Typhoon Odette, assuring that it has not forgotten them.
“I visited Palawan earlier today and then I came here before I go home to Davao. I came here to let you know that the government has not forgotten you. The government is working very hard, and the government is doing all that it can to find money for you,” Duterte said during his visit to typhoon victims in Cebu on Thursday.
Duterte said the Department of Social Welfare and Development already has the list of beneficiaries so those who are qualified to receive the aid will get their fair share.
He also noted that the money will be distributed among the local government units and the Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año will oversee its implementation.
“So the only thing we need now is your cooperation. We in government are ready, we are ready to provide. So what we’re aiming for now is a peaceful implementation because everyone will get their fair share anyway,” he said.
The President visited Cebu on Sunday and conducted an aerial survey at the southern part of the province and landed in Argao town, the second southern locality next to Carcar City where the typhoon made landfall.
After the meeting at the Philippine Air Force base, Duterte proceeded to Barangays Tisa and Labangon to check the extent of damage left by the typhoon.
He was met by hundreds of residents, including some mayors, at the Labangon Elementary School gymnasium where he and Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go distributed food packs to the calamity victims.
The police and the military will be deployed to impose order during the distribution of construction materials to the victims.
“Don’t get angry that there will be policemen that will watch over you. This is to prevent any chaos. You know, it starts with a crowd control problem, but it could degenerate into a [mob rule]. So that’s what we’re trying to prevent,” he said.
On Monday, he pledged to provide a P10 billion disaster response fund in a speech in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
Acting Budget Secretary Tina Rose Canda earlier said at least P6 billion of the P10 billion response fund would come from the proposed P5.024 trillion national budget for 2022. (PNA) -rir
