CEBU PROVINCE—President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. ordered on Thursday the establishment of a “tent city” to accommodate more quake survivors, who were displaced by the magnitude-6.9 earthquake that struck Bogo City, Cebu last Tuesday evening (September 30).
President Marcos issued the directive during his visit to ground zero, where he personally inspected damaged infrastructures, oversaw relief operations, and checked on the situation of Cebuanos, who were left traumatized by the seismic event.
He met with Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro and expressed his concern over the widespread damage in infrastructures amid ongoing aftershocks that made residents stay outdoors, wary of further shaking.
President Marcos and Baricuatro assessed the devastation caused by the tremor in northern Cebu, starting at the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Bogo, where they were met with patients and medical personnel. They assured them that healthcare services remain accessible despite the damage.
To support recovery efforts, Malacañang has immediately allocated ₱180 million in aid for Cebu and its quake-hit local government units:
- Cebu Province – ₱50 million
- Bogo City – ₱20 million
- San Remigio – ₱20 million
- Sogod – ₱20 million
- Bantayan – ₱10 million
- Daanbantayan – ₱10 million
- Madridejos – ₱10 million
- Medellin – ₱10 million
- Santa Fe – ₱10 million
- Tabogon – ₱10 million
- Tabuelan – ₱10 million
President Marcos said this funding aims to hasten relief, rehabilitation, and rebuilding for affected communities. Based on a situation briefing at the Bogo City Hall, the team decided to put up a “Tent City” because people express fear to go back to their houses as aftershocks are still felt.
“We are rushing this… so that people can have temporary shelters. Because many of them, and rightly so, are scared of going to the building. They prefer to stay outside… We respect that. So, that’s why our proposal is the tent city,” he said.
President Marcos and the members of his Cabinet as well as other national and local government officials themselves held the situation briefing outside the Bogo City Hall, which sustained major structural damages after the quake.
Mr. Marcos added that the government would tap the Philippine Red Cross to deploy its medical field tents—which were used at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—as staging and isolation wards and ensure the tent facilities could provide basic services to the evacuees.
He ensured that these facilities would receive food, water, and power supply to accommodate the needs of those injured and other survivors reeling from the effects of the tectonic quake.
President Marcos also checked on the SM Cares Village in Barangay Polambato, a Yolanda resettlement site where several units collapsed, and the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Vincent Ferrer, whose bell tower and facilities were destroyed.
He pledged immediate relief, temporary shelter, and long-term rehabilitation for the families affected. The President assured the earthquake-affected communities of continued government support in the ongoing relief and recovery efforts.
