Total damages caused by Typhoon Rolly have reached a total of almost P8 billion, government agencies reported on Tuesday.
Damage caused by the year's strongest storm on earth to roads, bridges, public buildings and flood control structures has topped P5.76 billion, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Tuesday.
Damage to agriculture, meanwhile, rose to P1.75 billion, based on field reports Monday morning. The storm also destroyed 26,261 hectares and affected 26,948 farmers, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
As “Rolly” slightly intensified as it exited the Philippine area of responsibility on Tuesday, tropical storm “Siony” gained strength while moving slowly over the Philippine Sea east of extreme Northern Luzon, the state weather bureau said.
“A landfall scenario over Batanes-Babuyan Islands area around Friday (Nov. 6) remains likely,” the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
The center of "Siony" was estimated at 565 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes. It was slowly moving east northeastward, packing maximum sustained winds of 85 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 105 km/h. It is forecast to intensify into severe tropical storm in the next 24 to 36 hours.
The Department of Education (DepEd), meanwhile, said 226 schools were damaged by the typhoon, the world’s strongest this year. Most of the schools were from the Bicol region, which incurred damage amounting to P489.5 million during the onslaught of Typhoon Rolly.
The National Electrification Administration also said the initial cost of damage brought by Typhoon Rolly to electric cooperatives has so far reached P30.5 million — bringing the total amount of damages cited by the DPWH, DA, DepEd and NEA to P7.97 billion.
NEA also said that as of 7 a.m., Nov. 3, power has yet to be restored in the provinces of Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Albay, and Sorsogon in the Bicol region.
READ: 5 provinces in Region 5 suffer pitch-dark night
Catanduanes Gov. Joseph Cua on Tuesday appealed for help for thousands of residents affected by the devastation of Rolly, which had made landfall on the island province as a super typhoon on Sunday.
“We're so devastated by typhoon Rolly. It was a super typhoon, signal no. 5 was raised and we couldn't do anything,” he said in Filipino.
Communication and power lines remain down as the super typhoon had toppled about 80 percent of their electric posts, the governor said.
Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said the typhoon caused damage worth P1.5 billion to roads, P458.2 million to bridges, P2.04 billion to flood control structures, P367.25 million to public buildings and P1.38 billion to other infrastructure.
“As expected, our assessment teams identified the majority of the destruction in the Bicol region,” Villar said, noting that the area sustained P4.62 billion in damage.
The DPWH Bicol Region has also reported the closed roads in the island province of Catanduanes, which was previously isolated and unreachable due to a province-wide power outage and unavailable telecommunication signal since the landfall of Typhoon Rolly.
“DPWH quick response teams are fast-tracking clearing operations along the affected road sections in the island as we have no alternative routes as of the moment. These roads must be opened soonest for the relief efforts which Catanduanes badly needs right now,” Villar said.
Impassable roads in Catanduanes include the intermittent sections of Catanduanes Circumferential Road due to landslides and fallen trees.
DPWH also identified two remaining closed road sections in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Central Luzon.
To date, a total of 19 road sections have already been cleared and opened, Villar said.
The volume of production loss was estimated at 115,890 metric tons, affecting rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock and agri-facilities in Regions IV-A, MIMAROPA, V and VIII.
The Department of Agriculture assured farmers and fishermen of government assistance, including 4,263 bags of rice issued by the National Food Authority (NFA) to the provinces of Marinduque, Albay, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes, Sorsogon and Cavite for relief operations; 133,326 bags of rice seeds; 17,545 bags of corn seeds, and 1,980 kgs of assorted vegetables; animal stocks, planting materials, feeds, drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry; about 10 million pieces of tilapia and milkfish fingerlings, as well as fishing gear and paraphernalia, for distribution; funds for the rehabilitation of areas affected by Rolly, and emergency and recovery loans with zero interest and no collateral, payale in 10 years.
The department added that the indemnification fund from Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. comes to P1 billion to pay for lost commodities.
Schools in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley and Eastern Visayas with one each, Mimaropa (13 schools), and Calabarzon (27 schools) were also damaged.
The DepEd, in its report, said it already mobilized engineers and disaster risk reduction management coordinators to assess the infrastructure and non-infrastructure damage.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the department has already requested funds from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to repair the school buildings damaged by the typhoon.
The DepEd also reported that 869 schools are currently used as evacuation centers for families affected by Typhoon Rolly, of which 443 are in the Bicol region.
Some 21,000 families or 82,584 individuals are taking temporary shelter in these schools, the DepEd said.
Briones said local governments should learn to avoid using schools as evacuation centers in the future.
“Eventually, we should find a solution because now… we have typhoons every year, we should be ready and not rely so much on schools for evacuation centers,” she said in Filipino.
Briones urged local governments to use general purpose buildings or gyms as evacuation centers.
Rolly, a super typhoon at its peak, brought strong winds that toppled houses, trees and power and communication lines, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. The storm's rains also triggered landslides and flooding.
The country's disaster agency has recorded at least 20 deaths due to the typhoon.
Malacañang on Tuesday assured the public that the government has money to fund disaster response following successive calamities that hit the country recently.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado reported to President Rodrigo Duterte that the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF) budget stands at P3.62 billion.
During a meeting with the Cabinet Monday night, Avisado told the President that the amount was the remainder of the NDRRMF, which was already augmented by P5 billion under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2.
The Budget chief said the NDRRMF was originally at P16 billion, “but some of the funds have already been used.”
Under the General Appropriations Act, several departments are given Quick Response Fund (QRF): Department of Agriculture, P1.5 billion; Department of Education, P2.1 billion; Department of Health, P600 million; Department of Public Works and Highways, P1 billion; Department of Social Welfare and Development, P1.25 billion; and National Electrification Administration, P100 million.
The DBM replenishes its QRFs whenever these are depleted to ensure that those departments can adequately respond to disasters, Avisado said.
So far, no department has asked for additional money but Avisado said the DBM expects requests following the recent calamities hitting the country.
The DBM sees bigger requirements as a result of Typhoon Rolly and it plans to work with Congress on how to provide additional allocation especially as lawmakers deliberate on the 2021 national budget.
In other developments:
• The Department of Trade and Industry warned unscrupulous traders to desist from exacting more profit than what is allowed under the suggested retail price (SRP), especially in calamity areas.
Trade Ramon Lopez reminded traders to be mindful of the current situation, with the pandemic and now the damage caused by typhoons to people and their livelihood. “Price freeze in calamity areas is automatic. There should not be any price hikes of basic necessities and prime commodities, at this time,” he said Tuesday. He reiterated that the government is stern in enforcing the prize freeze and the SRP. Non-compliance is punishable with a fine of P5,000 to P2 million and jail time between five and 15 years.
• The government on Tuesday said it will send planes loaded with relief goods and temporary shelters to Catanduanes after it was devastated by typhoon Rolly. “Flights have been scheduled to ferry relief items, food packs and other non-food items that will be used by the local government in affected areas,” NDRRMC spokesman Mark Timbal told the ANC news channel.
• The Supreme Court on Tuesday said some courts in areas hardest hit by super typhoon Rolly reported minor to no damage. SC spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said Deputy Court Administrator Raul Villanueva informed him that Halls of Justice in Naga City and Libmanan, Camarines Sur lost electricity and suffered minor damages that were being attended to by their maintenance staff. Villanueva added that there was "no substantial damage yet" in Gubat and Sorsogon City, Sorsogon, and no reported damage in Siniloan, Laguna. Courts in Marinduque and their staff reported no or minimal damage, while those in Occidental Mindoro and Romblon, Romblon were spared.
• Senator Francis Pangilinan said the Department of Budget and Management should immediately replenish the depleted Quick Reaction Funds (QRF) of Calabarzon and Bicol so they could respond to the needs of families and communities severely affected by Rolly. Pangilinan’s appeal came after the NDRRMC submitted its situational report showing that the DSWD standby funds for two of the most hard hit regions by super typhoon Rolly are now zero.