AN official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines expressed hope that President Benigno Aquino III’s visit to typhoon-hit provinces on Wednesday would bring “substantial support” and not just “ceremonial aid.”
National Secretariat for Social Action-Caritas Philippines Executive Secretary Fr. Edwin Gariguez said that while he is thankful for Aquino’s visit, he also expected “decisive leadership” in responding to the needs of those affected by the typhoon.
“We hope that his visit will not only be ceremonial, but must bring substantial support from the government to respond to the extreme emergency with fullest possible efficiency,” Gariguez said, citing the need to mobilize help from the government and international humanitarian community.
“Through the solidarity appeal we recently launched to the 61 dioceses nationwide, we are hoping to raise additional funds for typhoon victims in the coming days,” he added.
NASSA-Caritas Philippines initially released P1.89-million cash assistance from its local emergency funds called “Alay Kapwa” to support the relief operations and rapid needs assessments in at least five dioceses in the provinces of Oriental Mindoro, Northern Samar, Sorsogon, Masbate and Romblon.
But the priest, who is currently heading the church-led needs assessment of typhoon-affected families in Oriental Mindoro, said these funds may not be enough considering the magnitude of the devastation.
Among those who were first to respond ahead of the solidarity appeal are Caritas Manila, Archdiocese of Capiz, Archdiocese of Palo Relief and Rehabilitation Unit (Caritas Palo), Diocese of Calbayog, and the Diocese of Tagbilaran.
At least two Caritas Internationalis Member Organizations also provided support to “Nona”-hit areas, namely the Catholic Relief Services (Caritas USA), which provided shelter and tool kits to Northern Samar, and Caritas Luxembourg, which pledged Euros 7,000 (P350,000).
Aquino had earlier said on Wednesday that funds for the rehabilitation of Nona-affected areas in the province are available but it will only be released once reports have been validated.
In a briefing held at the Municipal Gymnasium in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro after the inspection of the typhoon-hit areas, Aquino said it is easy to say yes to all the funding requirements but if these are not validated he might face the Commission on Audit next year.
He said there are processes that need to be met and these include bidding, pre-qualification, and post-qualification.
He noted that funds releases for calamity-related aid may have exemptions but he does not want to ask for opinions anymore whether this will have repercussions vis-a-vis the election ban.
The President declared a national state of calamity on Dec. 18, 2015 through Proclamation 1186 to fast-track rescue, recovery, relief and rehabilitation efforts in areas affected by Nona, which greatly affected several provinces like Albay, Northern Samar, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon and Sorsogon.
In his report during the same briefing, Gov. Alfonso Umali Jr. said the typhoon resulted to infrastructure damages amounting to about P4 billion for the province alone.
Some 422,495 individuals from 350 villages were affected, with about 14,394 individuals still in 60 evacuation centers.
Umali said the provincial government, through the help of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, was able to deliver 20,648 relief packs.
He added that they target to complete relief operations by Jan. 7, 2016.