Arroyo orders release of P35-M for Isabela

ILAGAN, Isabela — President Arroyo ordered the Department of Budget and Management yesterday to release P35 million from her calamity fund to help rehabilitate public infrastructure in the province damaged by supertyphoon "Harurot."

The President’s order came after the plea of several officials here for her to extend financial assistance to the province, which was the hardest-hit in Cagayan Valley.

The supertyphoon left five people dead in southern Isabela and five others missing, with agricultural losses and property damage placed at P1.3 billion.

Arroyo, who visited the province yesterday, also directed Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza and the National Electrification Administration to fast-track the restoration of communication and power lines in the entire province, which remains isolated from the rest of Cagayan Valley.

Meanwhile, Tarlac folk are still reeling from the effects of "Harurot," with agricultural losses in the province estimated at P13 million.

On the other hand, around 72 villages are still coping with floodwaters as high as three feet in some areas.

Gov. Jose Yap Sr. said the towns of Anao, Camiling, Paniqui, Moncada, San Clemente, Mayantoc, La Paz and Bamban remain flooded, even as the province’s major rivers continue to swell.

Citing reports from the provincial disaster coordinating council, Yap said the waters of Camiling river in Camiling town, Batacan in San Clemente and Rio Chico in La Paz has reached critical levels.

The water level of the O’Donnell, Sacobia and Lucong rivers in Capas, Bamban and Concepcion, respectively, were described as above normal.

Except for the Rio Chico River, the rest of the waterways are catchbasins of water cascading from the eastern and northern slopes of the mountain ranges in the upland boundaries of Tarlac, Pampanga, Zambales and Pangasinan.

The Rio Chico River is a catchbasin of floodwaters from Nueva Ecija and southern Pangasinan.

The provincial government has advised owners of light vehicles to refrain from using the Tarlac-Sta. Rosa Road, which links Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, due to the swelling of the Rio Chico River.

Yap said the portion of the Romulo Highway in Camiling that was closed last Tuesday due to the swelling of the Camiling River is now open to all types of vehicles.

Meanwhile, provincial agriculture chief Bartolome Fajardo informed Yap that farmers who had just planted their ricefields with palay seedlings sustained losses placed at more than P1.3 million.

Fajardo said they are readying government-certified palay seedlings for distribution to affected farmers under a zero-interest loan scheme.

Retired Brig. Gen. Virgilio Florendo, executive officer of the provincial disaster coordinating council, said 36 families in San Clemente, Bamban and Tarlac City were rendered homeless after "Harurot" destroyed their house. - With Benjie Villa