The provincial government of Cebu will allocate PHP500 million to help restore the livelihood of Cebuano survivors of Typhoon Odette.
In a statement on Wednesday, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said while the provincial government does not demand any aid, it will be most grateful if help arrives.
Although the task of rebuilding is enormous, Garcia said she did not demand assistance from the national government, saying her province was not the only one that was devastated by the calamity.
On Monday, the governor disclosed that the Office of the President has provided PHP14.1 million assistance to augment the provincial government’s post-typhoon response efforts here.
This fresh assistance from President Rodrigo Duterte will augment its relief and recovery efforts, which aim to help the 36 affected local government units (LGUs) in the province.
Since the typhoon struck, the provincial government immediately mobilized its resources to distribute relief goods to affected families; generator sets, satellite phones, and UHF-VHF radios to LGUs; and equipment for the clearing operations.
Duterte met with Garcia last December 23 in Mactan, Cebu, where the President lauded the governor for her quick and active response to the calamity.
Garcia said the onslaught of “Odette” taught her the importance of going back to basics, which is why she will put up a radio base in all LGUs and police stations in the province so there will be constant communication even if there is no mobile phone signal or internet connection.
Meanwhile, the governor said she will allocate funds in the 2022 budget for the procurement of generator sets. Garcia said she wants every barangay in the province to have at least one generator set.
Citing the southern municipality of Alcantara as an example, she said the town did not have a water problem after Odette because the LGU’s generator sets distributed to its barangays were installed in households that had deep wells.
Balamban Mayor Alex Binghay, for his part, said they’ve been distributing food packs, housing materials, and cash to owners of damaged houses using their calamity funds and financial assistance they received, including PHP1 million from the provincial government, half a million pesos from Deputy Speaker and 3rd District Rep. Pablo John Garcia, and PHP100,000 from the governor’s own pocket.
Source: Philippines News Agency