Financial and in-kind donations from the people of Ilocos Norte are underway to assist provinces in Visayas and Mindanao hit hard by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.
Ilocos Norte provincial treasurer Josephine Calajate said PHP3 million from the provincial government of Ilocos Norte’s donation account under the regular budget has been committed for Cebu, Guimaras, Southern Leyte, Bohol, Negros Occidental, and Surigao del Sur.
“This is part of our governor’s commitment to helping typhoon victims in areas under state of calamity,” she said in a phone interview Monday.
“The north stands with you,” a wing van of the Ilocos Norte government containing the first batch of grocery items, used clothing, water, rice, and other essentials, was dispatched last Saturday to aid the calamity victims.
As of this posting, the Provincial Resiliency Office under the provincial government is still collecting donations ready for the next shipping in aid of the typhoon victims.
Though still reeling from the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and African swine fever (ASF), a third class municipality of Piddig in Ilocos Norte, through mayor Eduardo “Eddie” Guillen, has also committed at least PHP100,000 to victims of Typhoon Odette.
He said the amount may just be small but it sends a “message of hope to the needy”.
Aside from the 389 recorded death toll due to “Odette” as of Monday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 1,146 were injured while 64 individuals are missing.
The latest government report also showed that a total of 1,074,169 families or 4,204,601 individuals in 429 cities or municipalities were affected by the typhoon with 314,676 inside evacuation centers and 256,230 outside evacuation centers.
Meanwhile, at least 20 engineers and linemen of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative have joined other electric cooperatives in the country to speed up power restoration in the Visayas and Mindanao.
“We have scheduled one month for them to help in the restoration. From Naga, we are now on our way to Leyte and start the restoration by tomorrow,” said Noel Andres, INEC’s information officer who also joined the group in support of the Power Restoration Rapid Deployment-Task Force Kapatid by the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc., through the initiative of the One EC Network Foundation in collaboration with the Ilocos Norte government.
According to the NDRRMC, a total of 284 cities and municipalities experienced power interruption in Mimaropa, Regions 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Caraga, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Of the 284 cities and municipalities, only 154 have restored their power supply so far.
Source: Philippines News Agency