Aid pours in for Sendong victims

CEBU, Philippines - All members of the House of Representatives will each give P20,000 from their salaries to the victims of Typhoon Sendong in flood-stricken cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Northern Mindanao and some areas in the Visayas.

Cebu first district Rep. Eduardo Gullas and third district Rep. Pablo John Garcia both confirmed the announcement of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

The House of Representatives is expected to raise around P5.6 million.

Gullas said that the amount is easy to put together as Belmonte directed the accounting department to automatically deduct the P20,000 from the salaries of the congressmen.

The local governments of Cebu Province and Cebu City even the Police Regional Office-7 and other organizations are extending relief and financial assistance.

Gullas urged Cebuanos to support organizations raising funds to help typhoon victims to thank the Sto. Niño for sparing Cebu from the disaster.

Gullas also directed the deans of the University of the Visayas, which his family owns, to raise funds from the students to also help their students coming from the affected areas.

“Many times Cebu is targeted but sometimes we always escape and I think it’s because ang kapa sa Sr. Sto. Niño, our brother Cebuano, is always covering Cebu and we are very lucky but we feel the pain and misery of our brothers, many of them are Cebuanos,” Gullas said.

Yesterday some of the relief assistance from the Province of Cebu already arrived in the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro and Tanjay City in Negros Oriental.

Iligan and Cagayan de Oro each got 1,000 bags of NFA rice, 50 boxes of sardines, 1,500 packs of bottled water, 20 boxes of assorted medicines and a drum of chlorine.

For the cities of Dumaguete and Tanjay, each also got 500 bags of NFA rice, 50 boxes of sardines, 20 boxes of noodles and 125 boxes of bottled water.

Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office administrative staff Wilson Ramos said the rest of the 80,000 bottles of water were shipped last night and is expected to arrive in the area today.

Police and Army aid

The Cebu Provincial Police Office and the Armed Forces of the Philippines also collected donations in cash and kind for the victims.

CPPO director Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Comendador already provided a box at the headquarters where cash donations can be placed. He also directed all the police stations under him to donate.

“Even how small the amount is or whatever they want to give is already a big help to the victims who really have nothing after the typhoon struck,” Comendador said.

The AFP is still in the process of their search and recovery operations in Negros Oriental specifically in the areas of Dumaguete, Sibulan and Valencia.

Cebu City aid

The Cebu City Council will hold a special session this morning to take action on the proposed financial assistance that the city government wants to extend to the areas shattered by the typhoon.

The city government is willing to donate P5 million from its calamity funds to donate to the Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City and some parts of Negros Oriental.

The assistance will need authority from the city council that is why they are holding a special session even if they already took a break last week.

The city budgeted P5,000 per casket including the shipping cost which is now being processed by the Bids and Awards Committee. The P500,000 for the purchase of caskets will also be charged against the city’s calamity fund.

Aside from the cash assistance and the caskets, the city will be deploying the mobile morgues used for identification of victims of the ill-fated M/V Princess of the Stars.

The Mandaue City Council also passed a resolution authorizing Mayor Jonas Cortes to extend P3 million in financial assistance to the typhoon victims.

City officials also agreed to cancel the scheduled Christmas party this Thursday and the allocated budget will be given to the typhoon victims. – (FREEMAN)