President Aquino declares State of National
Calamity to speed up relief operations and reconstruction of typhoon-damaged
areas
President Benigno S. Aquino III declared Friday
night a State of National Calamity to hasten the rescue, relief and rehabilitation
efforts after Typhoon Pablo devastated several provinces in Mindanao.
Proclamation No. 522, issued by the President,
allows local government units to utilize their respective calamity funds for
the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts in their areas.
It will also hasten the government and the
private sector’s release of assistance, including international humanitarian
donations, and will effectively control the prices of basic goods and
commodities for the affected areas.
The declaration also necessitates that the
mechanisms for international humanitarian assistance are implemented pursuant
to Republic Act No. 10121, otherwise known as the Philippine Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Act of 2010.
With the issuance, the President tasked all
departments and concerned government agencies to carry out medical assistance,
relief and rehabilitation work in accordance with existing operational plans
and directives and orders.
The President’s declaration of a State of
National Calamity automatically imposes price controls on basic goods in
affected areas. It also mandates lending institutions to grant zero-interest
loans to the most affected section of the population through cooperatives or
through people's organizations.
Devastating rains, floods, landslides and
flashfloods caused by Typhoon Pablo have brought a large number of casualties
and destruction to peoples’ lives and properties.
Hard-hit areas include the provinces of
Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental and Davao del Norte in Region 11; Surigao del
Sur in CARAGA Region; Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro City
in Region 10; Siquijor in Region 7; and, Palawan in Region 4-B.
The government is currently spearheading
national efforts to undertake immediate rescue, recovery, relief and
rehabilitation in affected provinces.
Also on Friday, the President checked out the
devastated areas in New Bataan in Compostela Valley and Boston in Davao
Oriental. He also instructed government agencies to speed up relief and search
operations, as well as the reconstruction of damaged roads and bridges so that
needed goods and services could reach heavily damaged areas. PND (as)
Palace: Government to prosecute negligent officials
in Mindanao devastation
The government is ready to file charges against
local officials who neglected their duties during the devastation of Typhoon
Pablo that resulted to a large number of casualties.
President Benigno S. Aquino III has ordered the
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of
Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to
investigate the devastation caused by typhoon to prevent further loss of lives
in the future.
In a radio interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on
Saturday, Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government
will hold accountable those who neglected their duties regardless of their
party affiliation.
“Whoever is accountable will not be spared. Wala
dapat halong pulitika kapag ganito na buhay ng mga tao ang pinag-uusapan natin.
Hindi dapat mahaluan ng pulitika,” Valte said.
However, Valte said she doesn’t want to preempt
whatever the decision would be on the inquiry ordered by the President.
“The President has indeed ordered the probe but
we don’t want to be accused of favoring a particular person or persecuting, as
their favorite term would be, but we will wait for the results,” she said.
The President said during a media interview at
the Davao International Airport on Friday that the inquiry is aimed at
minimizing, if not eliminating, the large number of deaths during calamities
such as typhoons.
Typhoons, arriving in the country is a yearly
occurrence and the government must have an effective disaster plan to limit the
effects of the weather disturbance to the general population, he said.
After touring the municipality of New Bataan in
Compostela Valley, he said there must be effective plans and proper selection
of safe areas when relocating people to higher grounds, the President said.
He said New Bataan absorbed so much water and
the people were evacuated in low-lying areas still vulnerable to flashfloods.
The President also visited Friday Boston town in
Davao Oriental, also severely damaged by Typhoon Pablo. He said he wanted to
see the town rebuilt in a safer area, where it can be shielded from strong
winds whenever there are similar disturbances in the future. PND (as)
Government working to prevent spread of diseases
in typhoon-damaged areas
Malacanang said the government is doing
everything it can to prevent the spread of diseases in evacuations centers in
typhoon-ravaged areas in Mindanao and at the same time appealed for peoples’
cooperation.
“The Department of Health is doing what it can
in the evacuation areas to make sure that disease doesn’t spread. But we also
need the cooperation of the evacuees themselves to keep their areas clean dahil
siksikan sila doon,” Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a
radio interview Saturday over government-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
The cramped condition in evacuations centers
could easily cause the outbreak of diseases, particularly involving young
children, Valte said assuring the people that the DOH is working to address the
health concerns of the evacuees.
As to the water supply, teams from the
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) arrived in disaster areas with
the water filtration systems, she said.
To address concerns on the possible outbreak of
diseases because of decomposing dead bodies, Valte said the President has also
ordered local government units and national agencies to coordinate their
efforts in cleaning up and retrieval operations.
“Ang directive ni President Aquino kahapon doon
sa mga local officials at saka sa mga national government officials is to
provide what is necessary sa rescue, relief and other assistance na kailangan
sa disaster areas,” she said.
There are health concerns because of lack of
body bags as the death toll has reached more than 400. Valte said more body
bags will be sent.
The government is also ready to mobilize the
military to make more coffins to address the shortage, Valte said adding that
the government did the same during the devastation of Typhoon Sendong in
Cagayan de Oro City.
Valte said the President is also not in favor of
carrying out mass burials considering the sensitivities of the people who lost
their loved ones.
“Gusto ng Pangulo talaga na either ma-rescue or
mahanap man lang ang katawan para mabigyan ng closure ang kanilang mga mahal sa
buhay,” Valte said.
During a briefing with the National Disaster
Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) at the Davao International Airport
on Friday, the President said he wanted the missing people found or rescued.
He suggested carrying out centralized efforts in
providing relief assistance, rehabilitation, as well as search and rescue of
the missing individuals. Centralizing government actions will maximize the use
of its resources and assets as it responds to the typhoon aftermath, he said.
PND (as)
