Panlilio allots more calamity funds

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Gov. Eddie Panlilio has allocated another P6 million on top of the P37 million in calamity funds now on standby as the province braces for the effects of typhoon “Egay.”

“We are now better prepared,” said Lucia Gutierrez, the new head of the provincial disaster coordinating council (PDCC).

Gutierrez told The STAR that the province would source the additional P6 million from its earnings from lahar sand quarrying and from its internal revenue allotment.

Since Panlilio took over as governor last July 2, the provincial government has been earning an average of P1 million per day from lahar sand quarrying.

Quarrying, however, has stopped after quarry sites were flooded following typhoons “Chedeng” and “Dodong” last week.

Gutierrez admitted that the PDCC was not prepared for the floodings, which affected wide areas of the province. She said she took over the council only last Aug. 6 and had to reorganize it.

Last Monday, the provincial board approved Panlilio’s request for the declaration of a state of calamity, giving him access to P37 million in calamity funds.

With Panlilio’s allocation of another P6 million from quarrying revenues and the IRA, calamity funds available for emergency use in disaster-hit areas now total P43 million.

“Now we are ready,” Gutierrez said, adding that they have “pre-positioned” some P4 million worth of food items and other relief needs in case “Egay” hits the province.

“We have stockpiled goods, including empty sacks for the sand-bagging of damaged dikes, and many have been distributed to the towns (such as Lubao, Candaba and Bacolor, and the City of San Fernando),” she said.

“We continue to conduct an inventory of the needs of people in flood-prone areas. We are going to produce cauldrons and other cooking utensils for mass feeding at evacuation centers,” she said.

Gutierrez said the Land Transportation Office has obtained the commitment of the Victory and Genesis bus companies to provide units for emergencies.

She said the PDCC has also alerted its 20 rescue workers who are equipped with life vests, raincoats, rubber boots and ropes. Emergency purchases of waterproof flashlights were also made yesterday.

As of yesterday, 165 families in Barangay Tinajero in Bacolor remained in an evacuation center. – Ding Cervantes