By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Fulfilling his earlier directive on all government agencies to expedite aid and recovery efforts in areas devastated by Super Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-Wong), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. paid a visit to Catanduanes to inspect the storm’s impact on the island province on Thursday.
Marcos personally assessed the damage inflicted by Uwan on classrooms at the Tubli Elementary School in Barangay Tubli, Caramoran municipality.
Tubli Elementary School has 739 learners and 30 staff personnel. Of its 23 classrooms, one was totally damaged, 14 sustained major damage, while the rest had minor damage as a result of Super Typhoon Uwan. A unit of Starlink internet satellite was given to both the school and the Caramoran LGU by the President.
Marcos also inspected the damaged houses and the seawall in the same barangay, which reportedly had 558 totally damaged houses and 2,127 partially damaged ones.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian also accompanied the Chief Executive in the distribution of Emergency Cash Transfers (ECTs), Family Food Packs (FFPs), and other essential items to the storm-affected constituents in Catanduanes.
The assistance includes the Integrated Disaster Shelter Assistance Program (IDSAP) of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to provide cash assistance to residents whose homes were destroyed or damaged by Super Typhoon Uwan.
These initiatives by the Chief Executive highlight a whole-of-government approach vis-à-vis an earlier declaration of a state of national calamity to facilitate prompt disaster response to areas affected by Uwan’s onslaught.
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