Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay has officially turned over the P22.7 million in Makati’s financial assistance to officials of 18 provinces and 34 cities and municipalities severely affected by Typhoon “Ompong” three months ago.
On Binay’s recommendation, the City Council passed City Ordinance No. 2018-102 last year authorizing the donation of P22,750,000 to local government units in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Cordillera Administrative regions recently placed under a “state of calamity” due to Typhoon Ompong.
Binay said the assistance is intended to support the ongoing rehabilitation and recovery programs of those areas.
“We are always willing to help out and share our knowledge and resources to local government units throughout the country that are in great need. We do this not only to alleviate the plight of the victims but also with the hope of making their communities more resilient to disasters,” she said.
Under City Ordinance No. 2018-102, the city has appropriated P8,250,000 for selected provinces in Regions I, II, III and the Cordillera Administrative Region. For 34 cities and municipalities in the said regions, the city has appropriated P14,500,000.
Gov. Faustino Dy III of Isabela attended the turnover ceremony and received the P500,000 financial assistance for his province.
In his acceptance speech, Dy thanked Makati City for its donation to his province, saying he believed in the advocacies of the city government especially on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM).
Speaking on behalf of some 128,000 constituents, Mayor Eufemia Domingo of Licab, Nueva Ecija, thanked Mayor Binay and the city government for the P250,000-donation to her municipality.
Region I mayors who attended the ceremony and personally accepted the check donations were Eileen Guerrero (Paoay, Ilocos Norte), P250,000; from Ilocos Sur: Juan Paola Ancheta (Caoayan), P500,000; Josh Edward Cobangbang (Cabugao), P1,000,000; Ferdinand Hernaez (Santa Lucia), P500,000; from La Union: Stefanie Ann Eriguel (Agoo), P1,000,000; and Philip Caesar Crispino (Caba), P250,000; and from Pangasinan: Eduardo Ballesteros (Aguilar), P250,000; Jojo Callejo (Alcala), P250,000; and Bona Fe De Vera Parayno (Mangaldan), P1,000,000.
Mayors from Region II who were present were Leonardo Pattung (Baggao), P1,000,000 and Marilyn Pentecostes (Gonzaga), P500,000 from Cagayan. From Region III: Joe Gorospe (Dilasag), P250,000 and Shierwin Taay (Dingalan), P250,000 of Aurora; Florida Paguio-Esteban (Cuyapo), P250,000; and Eufemia Domingo (Licab), P250,000 of Nueva Ecija.
From the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), mayors who attended were Dominic Valera (Bangued, Abra), P250,000; Bernadette Barona (Abra, Bucay), P250,000; Felix Joash Eduarte (Abra, Tayum), P250,000; and Armando Lauro (Tublay, Benguet), P250,000.Provincial and city treasurers who represented their governors and mayors from Region I were Enrique Castro, Local Treasury Operations Officer (Ilocos Norte), P500,000; Veronica Garcis, City Treasurer (Batac, Ilocos Norte), P250,000; Maribeth Chan, Provincial Treasurer (Ilocos Sur), P500,000; Algen Gomez, Treasurer (Naguilian, La Union), P250,000; Lovela Gamueda, OIC Municipal Treasurer (Santol, La Union), P250,000; Marilou Utanes, Provincial Treasurer (Pangasinan), P500,000, and Jivita Olegrio, Municipal Treasurer (Rosales, Pangasinan) P250,000.
From Region II LGUs, present were Buenaventura Lagundi, City Treasurer (Tuguegarao), P750,000; Lolinda Pagulayan, OIC Provincial Treasurer (Quirino), P250,000; and Rhoda Moreno, Provincial Treasurer (Nueva Vizcaya), P250,000.
Also present from Region III were Atty. Maria Teresa Camacho, Acting Provincial Treasurer (Bulacan), P500,000; Rosario Rivera, Provincial Treasurer (Nueva Ecija), P 500,000; Restituto Cabato, Municipal Treasurer (Guimba, Nueva Ecija), P250,000; Gerardo Mercado, Treasurer (Pampanga), P500,000; Ma. Josieriza Paras, Municipal Treasurer (Masantol, Pampanga), P250,000; Emmanuel Adaoag, Asst. Provincial Treasurer (Zambales), P 250,000; and Marvin Guiang, PDRRMO officer-in-charge (Tarlac), P500,000.
From CAR, treasurers who personally received the checks were Romie Turqueza (Abra), P500,000; Atty. Julaida Caddawan-Pancho, (Apayao), P500,000; Teoderico Lacar Jr (Kabugao, Apayao), P 250,000; and Imelda Macanes (Benguet), P 500,000. Engr. Francis Barina, MDRRMO, represented Manabo, Abra, P250,000.
Last year, under the Adopt-a-School Program of the Department of Education-Makati, the city government donated 2,500 food packs, 5,000 pairs of school shoes, 10,875 sets of school uniforms; 1,946 P.E. jogging pants, 5,594 P.E. T-shirts; 358 boy’s polo; 331 girl’s blouse, 202 boy shorts, 50 skirts, and 1,009 pants to elementary and secondary school children of war-torn Marawi City.
Under the Philippine DRRM Act of 2010, the local DRRM Council may transfer funds to support disaster risk reduction work of other LDRRMCs which are declared under a state of calamity, upon the approval of the Sanggunian concerned.