PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte promised more than P1 billion in calamity funds to help Bicolanos recover following the onslaught of Typhoon “Nina” (international name Nock-Ten).
Speaking in Camarines Sur, one of the areas devastated by the typhoon, the President said he has ordered his Cabinet members to start giving aid to the victims of the typhoon.
“P1 billion standby in calamity [funds], you’ll have it,” Duterte said in his speech at Pili, Camarines Sur on Tuesday.
The President also vowed that the government would spend P50 million to P100 million to help farmers replant their seedlings.
He also assured the audience that there would be no corruption in the distribution of aid, saying he would throw any government officials who tried to steal calamity funds out of a helicopter.
“Let us not wait and wallow in self-pity. Let us move forward immediately,” he said.
At least six people died and 18 others went missing after the typhoon lashed the country over the Christmas holidays.
The unusually late storm first hit the eastern provinces on Christmas Day, flooding roads and farms, destroying homes and damaging ships as it crossed the archipelago, though the capital was spared.
In the worst incident, a ferry known as the m/v Starlight Atlantic sank off the coastal province of Batangas, killing one and leaving 18 crewmen missing, the coast guard reported after confirming the number of people on board.
Five others were killed by floods and falling objects knocked down when the storm hit, bearing gusts of 235 kilometers an hour, local officials said.
“Nina” took out power in many eastern provinces, with energy officials unsure when electrical services would be restored, a spokeswoman for the disaster-monitoring agency, Mina Marasigan, said.
More than 429,000 people were preemptively evacuated from their homes in vulnerable areas and over 330 flights were canceled due the typhoon, official figures showed, while houses and infrastructure also took a beating.
“We saw many houses destroyed by the strong winds. Infrastructure like schools and hospitals as well. We are still awaiting the exact figures of how many houses were destroyed, and the exact cost of damage,” Marasigan told reporters.
“Nina” had been expected to bring heavy rains and winds to capital city Manila, home to 13-million residents, but the typhoon lost force as it crossed the eastern islands.
It left the main island of Luzon on Tuesday heading west to the South China Sea.
The Agriculture department said the value of production losses in the agriculture sector caused by the typhoon may have reached more than P 300 million.
The department said that based on initial reports from its regional office, a total of 224,156 hectares and 154 farmers in Batangas and Quezon were affected by the recent typhoon.
“A maximum of 87,000 hectares of rice areas and 6,00 hectares of corn areas might be affected with a computed loss in value of P 295 million and P 85 million respectively. Field data will be provided as soon as it becomes available,” the department said.
“Some areas are impassable and flooded especially in Camarines Sur. Close monitoring is being undertaken by our deployed field personnel and LGU partners,” the department said.
The Department of Public Works and Highways, meanwhile, said it will rush repair wor on all roads and infrastructure damaged by Typhoon “Nina” as it sought an additional funds.
The DPWH said it has mobilized work crews to attend to eight road sections that have been closed to vehicular traffic because of damage from Typhoon “Nina.”
Clearing operations are underway in Bicol Region, which was hit hard during Christmas Day, the department said.
The DPWH also said that clearing and repair work is ongoing Fatima, Hinabangan, Samar which was also declared hardly passable in Region VIII due to a major roadslip. Motorists were advised to take the San Juanico-Basey-Marabut Road instead.
More flights were canceled at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport due to bad weather brought by the typhoon, the Manila International Airport Authority said on Tuesday.
In its latest advisory, the MIAA reported that Cebu Pacific Airlines canceled four domestic flights to and from Naga and Tuguegarao. The affected flights scheduled on Dec. 27 were DG 611 and DG6112 Manila-Naga-Manila and 5J504 and 5J505 Manila-Tuguegarao-Manila.
On Monday, the airline also canceled 12 international and more than 160 domestic flights because of bad weather.
The cancelled international flights were Manila-Bangkok-Manila 5J929 and 5J930, Manila-Hong Kong-Manila 5J110 and 5J111, Manila-Incheon-Manila 5J188 and 5J189, Manila-Kuala Lumpur-Manila 5J499 and 5J500, Manila-Pusan-Manila 5J184 and 5J185 and Manila-Singapore-Manila 5J805 and 5J806.
Among the domestic flights canceled last Monday were to and from Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, General Santos, Dipolog, Cauayan, Cotabato, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Kalibo, Caticlan, Legazpi, Ozamis, Pagadian, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Tuguegarao, Busuanga, Virac, Naga and Zamboanga
Cebu Pacific said it would arrange re-accommodation for the affected passengers at the soonest available flights.
Passengers on the cancelled flights may rebook their flights for travel within 30 days from original departure date; or opt for a full refund or a travel fund.
“We ask for everyone’s patience as our flights in the coming days are going to be full. We will continue to provide updates and resume normal operations as soon as possible. We hope for your understanding as this is beyond our control and your safety is our primary priority,” Cebu Pacific said.
On Monday, thousands of passengers were stranded at four Naia terminals because of the cancellation of 306 international and domestic flights.
In an 8 a.m. update, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the typhoon affected some 25,959 families in Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Regions V and VIII.
This was equivalent to 429,485 individuals in 384 barangays living in the affected regions, said NDRRMC executive director Ricardo Jalad.