Palace thanks the press and social media users
for assisting flood victims
Malacanang extended its gratitude to the media,
non-government organizations and private citizens who helped mobilize
assistance and rescue efforts to the victims of massive flooding in Metro
Manila and nearby areas this week.
“Gusto naming magpasalamat doon sa ating mga
media partners, our radio partners, ‘yung broadcast natin and also the NGOs,
‘yung private citizens who all banded together to help give relief goods, to
help mobilize assistance to those who were affected by the monsoon rains,”
Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview over
state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday.
Social media has also played a major role in
assisting the flood victims, according to Valte noting that for this reason the
Philippines ranked as one of the top Twitter-using countries in the world.
With some 9.5 million users, the Philippines is
the tenth largest nation on Twitter, according to a report by a social media
monitor.
“Nakita rin natin ‘yung pwersa nito noong mga
nakaraang araw dahil talagang nag-mobilize ang mga social networking users at
naging malaking tulong sa relief assistance at sa rescue efforts,” she said.
“Isa ito doon sa mga magandang ehemplo kung saan
talagang nagkapit-bisig ‘ang new media at traditional media, mga kasama natin
sa radyo, sa broadcast para mag-mobilize ng tulong at rescue para doon sa mga
lugar na naapektuhan.”
Semiocast, a social media monitor, said an
analysis of some 517 million Twitter profiles from around the world shows that
the country is just behind Spain and ahead of Turkey.
Around one-third of the country’s population has
Internet access, amounting to an online population of some 30 million people.
Of these figure, 93 percent also have a Facebook account.
The Philippines has overtaken even progressive
nations on the use of social media because of the relative affordability of
modern communication gadgets, according some analysts. (as/1:03pm)
Australia joining relief efforts in
flood-affected areas, Palace says
Australia is joining the United States and the
European Union in aiding the victims of massive flooding in Metro Manila and
central Luzon this week, a Palace official said.
“Nag-pledge na ng tulong ‘yung USAID--- ang
United States Agency for International Development ng P4.3 million for disaster
relief. And from my understanding from Secretary del Rosario ang Australia din
nag-pledge na sa kanila ng relief assistance,” Deputy Presidential spokesperson
Abigail Valte said in a radio interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday.
The Palace official also made an assurance that
the government had enough funds for relief assistance aside from the help
coming from private and foreign donors.
Valte said that according to the budget
department, the government had a calamity fund of around P5.95 billion.
“Available ito to enable national government
agencies to immediately respond to the needs of our citizens, and to localities
that were affected by the monsoon rains,” Valta said.
Apart from the calamity fund, the government
could also use its quick response funds that have already been released to
different departments early this year.
Among the departments with this response fund
include the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of
Health, Department of National Defense, Department of Public Works and Highways
and the Office of Civil Defense, Valte said.
If these quick response funds were summed up it
would amount to some P2.989 billion, she explained.
The US government and the European Union have
committed to provide financial and humanitarian aid to the Philippines
following the onslaught of massive floods brought by the southwest monsoon.
The EU delegation to the Philippines expressed
its sympathy to more than 800,000 families affected by floods in Metro Manila
and nearby areas. (as/1:20pm)
Malacanang assures sufficient supply of
Liquefied Petroleum Gas despite massive flooding
Malacanang appealed to the players in the
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry to maintain the prices of their products
so as not to inflict more burden to the people considering the recent calamity
that hit the country over the past weeks.
In an interview over the government-run radio
station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, Saturday, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail
Valte said the Energy department has assured that there is enough supply of LPG
despite the massive flooding in various parts of the country.
"Ang ina-assure kasi sa atin ng Department
of Energy ay sapat ang magiging supply ng ating LPG kahit doon sa mga lugar na
apektado ng dumaan na habagat, sapat ang ating supply," Valte said.
" Siguro pwede na rin po tayong magkusa at
sumunod sa iba na hindi nag-implement ng pagtaas ng presyo for this week para
naman maibsan ang epekto ng pagbaha dito sa Manila, at sa mga karatig
probinsya," she added.
Recent reports revealed a looming spike in the
prices of LPG amid the serious effects of the monsoon rains in the lives of the
people.
Torrential rains has poured during the past week
which submerged Metro Manila and neighboring provinces, inflicting severe
damage to properties and claimed lives of several people. (jcl/3:00 p.m.)
Palace says government ready to fund resettling
of informal settlers from danger zones
The budget department has already released the
money that will fund the removal of informal settlers from danger zones that
are often affected by natural disasters such as massive floods and landslides.
“Nagbigay na ng pondo ang DBM para sa housing
for the relocation of informal settlers in danger areas. Kaya ito ang inuna
kasi sila ang talagang delikado dahil sa kinalalagyan ng kanilang mga bahay,”
Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview over
dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday.
The money has been given to the National Housing
Authority and the government will soon work to immediately remove the informal
settlers from danger zones.
In the meantime, the focus of government
agencies is relief and evacuation of flood-affected residents, Valte said.
After the relief and evacuation phase, the government will proceed to the
resettlement phase, she added.
As of this time, however, the government has yet
to receive final reports on damage infrastructure, proposed resettlement
projects, dredging, flood control and solid waste management measures, Valte
said.
During President Aquino's visits to flooded
areas this week, he vowed to address the flooding problem in Metro Manila and
in nearby provinces. In Pampanga, he promised to help the local government of
the province to build dikes that will protect it from flood water.
While in Valenzuela also this week, the
President mentioned building an eight-kilometer road dike that will shield the
CAMANAVA area and some places in Bulacan from flood.
He said that these projects may cost more than
P2 billion and will require two to three years to complete.
The President instructed Public Works and
Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson to assess damaged infrastructure and oversee
rebuilding efforts. (as/4:02pm)
