Each of the 17 Metro Manila mayors will shell out at least P500,000 to help families in Albay province affected by the continuous eruption of Mayon Volcano.
The city chief executives met with officials of the Metro Manila Development Authority on Wednesday and discussed how to help local government units through financial assistance, human resources and logistic supports.
“There were resolutions adopted here, one is that the Metro Manila Council will assist LGUs affected by Mount Mayon, the second resolution is the fund shall be sourced in the local disaster risk reduction and management funds of LGUs of Metro Manila,” said Quezon City mayor and MMC spokesman Herbert Bautista.
MMDA assistant general manager for planning Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. said agency chairman Danilo Lim and the metro mayors are now in close coordination with Presidential Political Adviser and former MMDA chief Francis Tolentino to identify the areas affected in the province.
Garcia said President Rodrigo Duterte tapped Tolentino to be the overall in-charge for disaster management.
“This is a special meeting and not a regular MMC meeting,” said Garcia.
“We will be having a common fund, minimum of P500,000. We also discussed the deployment of 100 personnel to Albay to check, help and distribute food, medicines, ambulance and fire trucks for clean water,” he added.
The MMC, composed of 17 mayors and other local government officials in Metro Manila, is the governing board and policy-making body of the MMDA.
Two weeks ago, the Taguig City government initially sent medical teams to Albay and gave the provincial government P3 million as financial assistance.
Mayor Laarni Cayetano said members of the City Council approved the release of P3 million in calamity assistance to Albay, which was declared under the state of calamity.
The city’s special medical mission was conducted at Bagumbayan Central School where free checkups and medicines to evacuees from Barangay Boyuan were rendered. The medical mission then proceeded to Sto. Domingo.
The city government also sent 3,000 relief goods consisting of hygiene kits, face masks, rice and canned goods.
“We’ve seen the news and we know that they really need our help. We hope that through this simple act, we will be able to give them hope and love,” said Mayor Cayetano, who also hails from Albay.
The financial and medical help extended by Taguig to Albay is the latest of its regular assistance provided to other local government units in the country.
In July, the city government also gave P1.5 million as relief assistance to evacuees in Marawi City following the attack of extremist Maute Group in Barangay Basak Malutlut on May 23 last year.
Last September, House Deputy Speaker and Taguig 2nd District Rep. Pia Cayetano and other city officials also made a personal visit to Marawi residents and turned over 46 crates of relief goods to the disaster operation center of Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 10 in Marawi City.
When Typhoon “Nina” severely struck Bicol Region in December 2016, Taguig also provided a P9-million calamity assistance.
The city also handed a P1-million calamity assistance to the residents affected by Typhoon “Lawin” which lashed the provinces of Kalinga, Apayao, Mountain Province, Abra and Benguet in October 2016.