The Office of the Vice President is coordinating with local government units to send assistance to areas affected by typhoon ‘Agaton.’
An ABS-CBN news report said Vice President Leni Robredo said bottles of drinking water were expected to be delivered to Baybay, Leyte. Robredo also said volunteers would also distribute relief packs in Abuyog, Leyte and Sogod, Southern Leyte in the afternoon.
“We are coordinating with LGUs to send aid to affected areas,” Robredo said.
Agaton flooded parts of the Visayas and Mindanao and has affected some 136,000 people and left around P874,000 in damage to agriculture, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Agaton weakened into a tropical depression on Monday morning, state weather bureau PAGASA said.
As of 1 p.m., the tropical cyclone was spotted over the coastal waters of Marabut, Leyte. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour, with gusts of up to 60 kph, the weather bureau said.
Vice presidential aspirant Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan meanwhile he vows to dismantle the food smuggling network deeply embedded in the different agencies of Philippine government.
In an interview with Radyo 5’s Ted Failon and DJ Chacha Monday morning, Pangilina politely rebutted, and then enumerated the stellar results of his legislative work and brief stint as food and agriculture czar during the Aquino administration.
“In one and a half years, we were able to stop the importation of high-priced rice from Vietnam and Thailand. We filed administrative cases against six regional heads of the National Food Administration, officials who were involved in pushing for not only importation, but also re-bagging and repacking of smuggled products,” he added.
“We saved 7 billion pesos in government funds because of that move,” Pangilinan said of his track record in good governance.
Pangilinan also debunked fake news about his years as a senator, noting that his 17 years has been fruitful especially with the much-needed Sagip Saka Law (Republic Act 11321) giving powers to national agencies and local government units to directly procure food products from farmers and fisherfolk thereby cutting out middlemen.
Re-electionist Senator Leila M. de Lima meawhile said she is thrilled over the overwhelming support that the Filipinos are giving to the tandem of Robredo and Pangilinan amid attempts to partner the former with other vice presidential aspirants.
De Lima, who is running under the Robredo-Pangilinan ticket, said the unstoppable momentum of massive Leni-Kiko rallies, particularly the recent grand rallies in Pangasinan and Pampanga, further highlighted people’s full support for their tandem.