Pasay sets up ‘tent city’ for Yolanda victims

MANILA, Philippines - The Pasay City government has set up tents for survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda at the Villamor Air Base Elementary School, Mayor Antonino Calixto said yesterday.

Fifty tents will accommodate 80 to 100 families evacuated from typhoon-ravaged Leyte and Samar provinces, he said.

Calixto said the school will serve as a temporary shelter for survivors who have yet to contact their relatives in Metro Manila, undergoing processing by housing agencies or have nowhere else to go at this time.

“The Pasay City government will do all that it can to care for our kababayans who are now virtual refugees in their own country. We are trying to provide a solution in a difficult transition period. We ask the public to help the city government care for our kababayans who will be accommodated in the tent city,” he said.

City administrator Dennis Acorda said there is also a special “Yolanda ward” at the Pasay City General Hospital for survivors who need medical attention.

Calixto said that under normal circumstances the city’s facilities are reserved for Pasay residents but these are not normal times. ”This is a national calamity, hence, we have opened our services and our schools and hospitals to our countrymen in need of our help,” he said.

Water stations

Meanwhile, Maynilad Water Services Inc. said yesterday it has set up a water station at the Villamor Air Base for typhoon survivors.

“Around 150 people land in Villamor Air Base every two hours. Our water station has been operating round-the-clock since Thursday to provide them and the people extending support to them with safe drinking water,” said Maynilad president and CEO RickyVargas.

Earlier, Maynilad sent two portable water treatment plants to Leyte. One facility can produce 50,000 liters of potable water from brackish water a day while the other has a capacity of 26,000 liters per day.