The Provincial Government of Albay will provide P1-million in financial aid and deliver mental health and psychosocial support to Catanduanes, which bore the brunt of Super Typhoon ‘Pepito’ over the weekend.
Acting Governor Baby Glenda Ong-Bongao announced the initiative after a meeting with Albay’s local finance committee and department heads. Under the banner “Oneness for Catanduanes,” the assistance aims to support families, particularly those who lost their homes during the storm.
The Albay Provincial Health Office will lead a 30-member medical team in a mission to a village in Bagamanoc town. The team, consisting of five doctors and several nurses, will distribute hygiene and breastfeeding kits, school supplies, anti-tetanus vaccines, and nutritional commodities.
Bongao said she will personally deliver the financial aid and lead the humanitarian mission on Friday, November 22, 2024.
The province will also send a water purification machine and a water lorry to address the urgent need for potable water in Catanduanes. A similar unit from the Philippine Red Cross will augment this effort.
‘Pepito’ packed 325 kilometers per hour wind gusts when it battered Panganiban town at 9:40 p.m. last Saturday, November 17, 2024. Neighboring municipalities, including Viga and Bagamanoc, were also severely affected, crippling lifelines such as communication, transportation, and water supply.
Bongao emphasized that Albay’s support is a gesture of gratitude and solidarity, recalling the assistance it received from other local government units during its own struggles with typhoons and volcanic eruptions in recent years.
“In times of calamity, we look out for one another. Together, we are stronger,” she said.
