By Brian Campued
The Office of the President (OP) released a total of P298 million in financial assistance to local government units (LGUs) affected by powerful earthquakes in Davao and Caraga Regions last week.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., during a situational briefing at the Tarragona Municipal Hall in Davao Oriental on Monday, said that he would let the local chief executives decide on where to allocate the financial aid from the OP as each LGU may have different needs.
“it’s up to their LGU kung papaano niyo gagamitin ito,” Marcos Jr. said. “Mas alam ninyo kaysa sa amin ang pangangailangan doon sa area ninyo eh.”
The OP extended P50 million to Davao Oriental; P15 million each to Manay, Banaybay, and Lupon; P10 million each to Mati City, Tarragona, Baganga, Boston, and Cateel; P5 million each to San Isidro and Caraga; and P3 million to Governor Generoso.
The President’s office also allocated P20 million to Agusan del Sur; P15 million each to Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Dinagat Islands, and Davao City.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) would also release P145 million through the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), which would be used for relief and recovery efforts as well as financial aid to bereaved families.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), aside from distributing family food packs (FFPs), ready-to-eat food, and non-food items to affected residents, also gave P10,000 financial aid to families whose houses were totally damaged by the temblor.
As of 6:00 p.m. on Monday, the DSWD has distributed some 50,000 boxes of FFPs to affected LGUs in Davao Region and 688 in Caraga.
Mobile kitchens were also deployed to provide hot meals to residents in temporary shelters.
Marcos Jr. assured that the national government would remain on the ground alongside the LGUs to ensure sustained relief support and until all displaced residents had recovered and returned to their normal lives.
“Hindi ito pang minsanan lamang. Hindi kami aalis dito… wala sa amin [ang] aalis dito hangga’t lahat ng mga—the citizens na natamaan ay nakabalik na sa more or less na normal na buhay,” he stressed.
“Huwag kayong magdadalawang isip kung anong pangangailangan ninyo, sabihin ninyo sa amin. Kung kaya namin dalhin, kaya namin ibigay, gagawin namin,” the Chief Executive told residents.
In its situational report as of 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that eight individuals were reported dead following the doublet earthquakes in Manay, Davao Oriental last Oct. 10.
Some 403 persons sustained injuries in Davao Region and Caraga—of which, 23 were confirmed while the rest, including the casualties, are still under validation.
A total of 200,914 families or about 845,001 individuals were affected, according to the NDRRMC situational report.
-jpv
