Duterte to DSWD: Procure tarps, coco lumber to shelter 'Odette' survivors
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development to procure tarpaulin sheets and lumber from uprooted coconut trees to allow families displaced by Super Typhoon Odette (international name Rai) to construct temporary shelters.
According to the latest situation report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, exactly 3,952,880 individuals or 1,012,997 families were affected by Odette as 546,100 displaced persons remained in 1,198 evacuation centers around the country.
Speaking at his Talk to the People on Monday night, the chief executive said that food was still "adequate" in areas hit by the super typhoon according to the DSWD while the bigger hurdle remained reconstructing homes.
“Tarpaulin would protect people from the cold at night — instead of letting them sleep under plastic...Buy the tarpaulin sheets first, if it can be done within 48 hours — a tarpaulin sheet that covers a family of six in the areas where no repairs can yet be done,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
"I saw in some areas that people are sleeping with only plastics over their heads...Buy trapal, the appropriate size for a family of maybe six people. Trapal will protect them from the cold. If it can be done in 48 hours, just estimate the trapal that cover a family of six in areas without repairs yet."
The NDRRMC added that Odette caused almost P16.7 billion in infrastructure damages, while damaged houses also tallied an estimated cost of P29.2 million.
Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista said at the taped meeting that assets containing food packs, water, and housing materials have already been activated pending the availability of air and water transportation.
Duterte pledges P5,000 per family
Contrary to his earlier statements that government disaster response funds have already been depleted, the chief executive also reiterated his earlier promise that P5,000 will be given to each family directly affected by 'Odette.'
"Conduct canvassing right away, don't conduct bidding process. But it's also okay if they want it.. But it will delay the assistance needed for the situation," Duterte said, addressing Bautista.
Earlier that day, data from the DSWD sent to media said that a total of P130 million worth of assistance was provided to the affected families. Of which:
- 99,664,449.37 came from the DSWD
- 30,137,105.20 was provided by the Local Government Units
- 1,071,775.00 from Non-Government Organizations
- 12,500.00 from Other Partners
Duterte on Monday night also said that in Siargao, almost all trees fell or were uprooted due to Odette’s strong winds.
"Let’s get a chainsaw and process the woods there...Those who own lands that are planted with coconut, then fell down, just give the lumber to the people there, in Siargao, if you build a mini sawmill there, it's easy, right there, it's already there, the wood, so it should come out as lumber," he said.
"Coconut is not advisable to be used to bhe uild homes, but it’s just temporary. Maybe we can paint them black,” he added. — Franco Luna
PAGASA says severe tropical storm Rai entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility at around 7 p.m. Tuesday. It was assigned the local name Odette.
Telco giant Globe has completed network service repairs in municipalities of Anda, Dauis, Loon and Panglao in Bohol, San Fernando in Cebu, and Baybay, Albuera in Leyte, and Limasawa in Southern Leyte.
Services in Mindanao's Tagana-an, Surigao del Norte have also been restored as of January 4.
Globe says it has equipped local government units affected by Super Typhoon Odette with an M360 platform, used to send SMS updates to their offices and constituencies. "Palawan, Southern Leyte, and Cebu municipalities Naga, Cordova and the city of Mandaue, were among the first to avail of this free service," the telco says in a release.
Network coverage has been restored in 98% of areas with PLDT and Smart coverage in Bacolod.
The telco group says in a release that network services have been restored in 90% of Visayas cities and municipalities affected by Super Typhoon Odette.
Earlier, PLDT-Smart reported the full restoration of services in Antique, Iloilo, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Western Samar.
The Technical Education and Skils Development Authority in the Cordillera is sending 19 trainers to Bohol, one of the provinces that was hit hard by Super Typhoon Odette last December.
The trainers will help in the recovery and rebuilding efforts in the province by giving skills training to Boholanons.
TESDA Cordillera, along with the TESDA in the Ilocos region, will be giving free training, particularly on construction-related courses. The training will help in the rebuilding homes and other structures destroyed by the strongest typhoon that visited the country since Super Typhoon Yolanda.
The trainers are from the Provincial Training Centers of TESDA Kalinga, TESDA Mountain Province, TESDA Abra, TESDA Apayao, and TESDA Ifugao. There are four trainers for Electrical Installation and Maintenance, nine trainers for Carpentry, and six trainers for Masonry. — The STAR/Artemio Dumlao
The Department of the Interior and Local Government and other regional goverment offices in SOCCSKSARGEN has sent relief supplies for typhoon-stricken areas in the Caraga Region.
The supplies were transported in a 24-vehicle convoy that included dump trucks.
The humanitarian mission is a joint initiative of the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Regional Task Force on COVID-19.
The convoy on Tuesday follows an initial shipment of relief supplies to the Caraga Region that the DILG regional office initiated.
The provisions — clothings, food rations and hygiene kits — were received by DILG personnel in the Caraga region. — The STAR/John Unson
Total agriculture damage from Typhoon Odette is at P5.79 billion and counting, Agriculture Secretary William Dar says.
More than 70,000 hectares of agricultural land were affected.
Meanwhile, more than 506,000 houses were damaged by the super typhoon and may reach up to 600,000, Housing Secretary Eduardo del Rosario says.
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