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DISASTER
officials Thursday said the death toll from tropical
storm Frank that visited the country over the weekend
has already reached 498 with 263 people still missing,
excluding the more than 700 feared dead from MV Princess
of the Stars that capsized off Romblon.
The
National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said 221
of the casualties have been identified.
On
Thursday night the NDCC said it has recorded 293 deaths,
216 of whom were from Western Visayas alone.
The
total number of injured stood at 288.
Practically the whole country was affected by Frank—from
the Ilocos region in the north to the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao in the south—except for Cagayan
Valley and the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Disaster
officials explained that the “sudden increase in the
number of reported deaths” was due to the local
officials’ being already able to give their report as
power was restored in the affected provinces.
“It’s
only now that local disaster officials were able to
furnish us partial reports,” NDCC executive officer
Glenn Rabonza explained.
Rabonza
said the total number of affected families is 487,412,
or 2,443,646 persons who are from 2,877 barangays in 42
provinces.
He said
178,467 houses were also damaged. On other hand, damage
to infrastructure and agriculture is pegged at P5.513
billion.
DSWD
augmentation
Meanwhile, Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral
said on Thursday that the department has released P7.87
million worth of relief augmentation support to regions
hit hardest by Typhoon Frank, namely, Central Luzon,
Bicol, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao
Region, Soccsksargen and the National Capital Region.
The
augmentation support was in the form of relief supplies
composed of family food packs, used clothings, bedsheets
and ready-to-eat foods.
The
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also
released an additional P2 million in standby funds for
DSWD field offices in Western Visayas, Central Visayas
and Soccsksargen for the purchase of emergency relief
supplies and other expenditures for the ongoing disaster
relief. Moreover, the DSWD has prepositioned
P31.1-million standby funds and stockpile of relief
commodities worth P64.94 million in all concerned DSWD
field offices.
According to Cabral, the total cost of assistance to the
victims now reached P17.1 million. Of this, P7.9 million
came from the DSWD, P8.1 million from the local
government units and P1.1 million from nongovernment
organizations.
DSWD-Field
Office VI reported that Rep. Exequiel Javier gave 600
sacks of rice for Antique province through the
congressman’s Priority Development Assistance Fund.
Bayanihang Bayan volunteers, namely, Royal Eagles,
Philbikers, YMCA-Iloilo, Disaster Rescue and Response
Unit of the Philippine Navy Reserve Command Unit and
Creative Community Foundation continue to assist Field
Office VI and other DSWD offices.
‘Don’t
blame the mines’
The
Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CMP) on Wednesday
said it is unfair to blame the mining industry for the
sudden heavy flooding in Iloilo because there is no
mining activity in the province.
In a
statement, CMP president Benjamin Philip Romualdez said
industry sources think it is already becoming bizarre
that whenever flooding occurs, the mining sector is
always the fall guy.
Earlier,
some members of the Catholic Church blamed mining and
deforestation for the massive floods in Iloilo caused by
Typhoon Frank.
The
chamber said that the massive flood is expected as the
Iloilo City Engineer’s Office had reported that the city
is a flood-prone area.
It said
the archaic drainage facilities and shrinking waterways
that could no longer accommodate floodwaters from the
Tigum-Aganan watershed area aggravated the situation,
thereby contributing to the floodwaters.
Situated
below sea level, Iloilo should have prepared for an
overflow during typhoons. “The city engineer’s report
also said the city and the province have no drainage
development plan and [are] currently encountering a
serious garbage problem,” said the Chamber.
Iloilo
City is the ninth most populous city in the country with
a population density of close to 6,000 per square
kilometer.
The
Queen sends sympathies
Meanwhile, British Charge d’ Affaires Colin Crorkin
conveyed to President Arroyo yesterday the condolences
of Queen Elizabeth to the victims of Typhoon Frank.
In a
short note, the Queen said, “I have been deeply saddened
by the tragic loss of life in the Visayas and Luzon
regions and on the MV Princess of the Stars. Please
accept my sincere condolences to the families and
friends of those who have lost their lives in the
devastating typhoon.”
The
British Embassy is closely monitoring the effects of the
typhoon, and has advised its nationals to adopt
typhoon-preparedness measures in anticipation of more
typhoons to hit the Philippines this year.
Calamity
loans expedited
At the
same time, Vice President and Pag-IBIG Fund board
chairman Noli de Castro directed the fund to aid the
victims by expediting the processing of applications for
calamity loans.
Immediately, Pag-IBIG, through its chief executive
officer Romero Quimbo, approved the allocation of P1.5
billion for the said loans to help fund members affected
by the typhoon.
The loan
is open to active Pag-IBIG members who have made at
least 24 monthly contributions and are residing in areas
declared under state of calamity by either the local
government unit or by the Office of the President.
Members
with outstanding Multipurpose Loans may still borrow
under the program. To optimize assistance, a qualified
member can borrow as much as 80 percent of his Pag-IBIG
savings, comprising his personal contributions, the
employer counterpart savings as well as the dividends
earned. The loan will be paid over a period of 24
months.
As an
additional relief, a borrower is given a five-month
grace period before he starts paying the loan.
Quimbo
advised all affected members to file their applications
with the Pag-IBIG branch where their contributions are
remitted within 90 days from the occurrence of the
calamity. De Castro has instructed the Pag-IBIG Fund to
process the loans of affected members within one day
from its filing, if possible. (With R. Reyes and E.
Torres) |
