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Friday, March 29, 2024

Palace vows cash aid to families of typhoon victims

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President Rodrigo Duterte will release P25,000 financial assistance to the families of those who were killed by Typhoon “Ompong,” the Palace said Monday.

Palace vows cash aid to families of typhoon victims
LANDSLIDE VICTIMS. A rescue worker examines body bags containing the bodies of miners killed after massive landslides caused by Typhoon ‘Ompong’ in Itogon, Benguet on Sunday. The cyclone eventually crashed into Hong Kong before it struck mainland China, injuring scores and sending skyscrapers swaying after killing and leaving at least 49 people in the Philippines. AFP

“The President will first meet with the families of those who perished,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said in a press briefing in Itogon, Benguet.

Roque said Duterte expresses his deepest sympathies to the bereaved families of the victims of the calamity.

“Even though the President is pleased with the disaster preparations and the local governments’ immediate response, we are sympathizing with the inevitable deaths due to Typhoon Ompong,” Roque said.

He added that the Department of Interior and Local Government has recorded a total of 59 deaths in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

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Meanwhile, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu ordered a stop to all illegal small-scale mining operations in the region.

He asked for small-scale miners to cooperate and stop all mining activities while his agency waits for the approval and proclamation of their applications.

“The DENR will be sending men from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to effect the stoppage of all mining activities, especially here in Itogon,” Cimatu said.

Authorities in Itogon on Monday resumed the search for dozens of people believed to be trapped in a mine that was buried by landslides due to Typhoon Ompong.

In the Cordilleras, 54 people died mostly due to landslides, 34 of whom were from Itogon, said the regional police director, Chief Supt. Rolando Nana.

Some 36 are still missing, he said.

Benguet Corp. said it had rescued several small-scale miners from the area Sunday.

The mining company, which provided medical assistance to victims, said these small-scale miners have been operating without permission. Benguet used to mine in the Antamok area in the 1990s until it suspended operations in search for new sustainable technologies to mine low-grade ore. It was during this time that illegal miners frequented the area and started to operate small-scale activities, the company said.

In Nueva Vizcaya, at least 15 barangays in an upland town were still isolated due to landslides from rains brought by Ompong.

Gov. Carlos Padilla said the isolated barangays are in the upland town of Kayapa, neighboring Benguet province.

“Like in the Cordillera region, the 15 barangays of Kayapa are situated in remote upland areas which were likely hammered by strong rains of typhoon Ompong, these rains triggered landslides on the access roads,” he said.

A family of four was also buried by landslide in the said municipality while the town’s Oyawi Bridge was also damaged by strong waters.

Padilla said he has ordered the immediate consolidation of damage reports from local government units and national agencies concerned.

“We will evaluate and assess the extent of damages so that we can decide if we can declare our province under a state of calamity,” he added.

In Pampanga, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council said about 160 villages remained submerged in flood waters. Six major road and bridges were also not passable to any type of vehicle, said Bobby Manalo, operations officer of the RDRRMC.

Provincial and municipal authorities are leading disaster response and relief efforts with the support of the Department of Social Welfare and Development field offices and the Philippine Red Cross.

DSWD has started registration, monitoring and initial assessment of displaced families in evacuation centers. President Rodrigo Duterte visited the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley Region Monday to assess the damage and visit displaced residents in evacuation centers.

The Philippine Red Cross has deployed rescue teams and relief vehicles to Northern Luzon provinces. The ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management, AHA Centre dispatched an In-Country Liaison Team  to the Philippines and is currently on standby at the Emergency Operations Centre of the NDRRMC.

The Government of Australia has pledged AUD800,000 (US$572,000) of humanitarian supplies for the emergency response. This includes sleeping mats, blankets, hygiene and shelter kits for up to 25,000 people in the most affected areas.

The weather bureau said Monday the country will experience fair weather this week, with Ompong’s exit.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said it was closely monitoring and evaluating 11 airports in the country affected by bad weather condition brought by Ompong.

The Department of Transportation estimated about P40 million worth of infrastructure, primarily in Tuguegarao Airport in Cagayan, was damaged by the typhoon.

DOTr and CAAP officials led by Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade inspected Tuguegarao Airport on Monday and found that the baggage carousel area and other offices of the aviation authority were badly damaged.

The airport´s runway, ramp, and other navigational equipment were spared by the typhoon, however, and are all functional.

Among the other airports being monitored by CAAP include those in Baguio, Basco, Cauayan, Itbayat, Laoag, Lingayen, Palanan, San Fernando, Vigan, and Lal-lo.

“As of 8 a.m. today the airport in Baguio is limited only to helicopter operations while there still no contact in Itbayan,¨said CAAP chief information officer and spokesman Eric Apolonio in a text message to Manila Standard.

¨In Baguio, communication lines are open and operational via VHF/HF [Very High-Frequency radio] and phone and mobile lines. Navigational aids and meteorological equipment are also operational but runway 27 there is affected by a landslide in the area, and the runway is covered by mud,” he added.

Apolinio said a notice to airmen will be issued to limit Baguio operations to helicopter use only.

Apolonio said airports in Basco in Batanes, San Fernando, Vigan, Lal-lo and Laoag are now open while Cauayan is operational only for relief, humanitarian and medical operations.

The National Electrification Administration on Monday vowed to help the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative restore power in the province in the next three to five days.

At a news conference in Quezon City, engineer Eric Villar, acting manager of the disaster risk reduction management department, said INEC has suffered a loss of P11 million when Typhoon Ompong pounded Northern Luzon and toppled electric posts and communications lines.

“We are willing to extend assistance to INEC either through a loan or subsidy [just to be able to restore power in Ilocos Norte],” he told the Manila Standard.

He assured the residents of Ilocos Norte as well as of other areas affected by Ompong that efforts and coordination are being undertaken to restore power in their areas.

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