Landslide victim thankful for gov't support

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - A peasant from Maguindanao whose daughter sustained a fractured leg when a landslide hit their shanty last week is delighted with the outpouring of support for the victim’s medication.

Winifredo Toniakao, of Barangay Blensong in North Upi town, on Saturday told The Star they now have adequate supply of medicines for her injured daughter, 4-year-old Reina Mae, who is still confined at the orthopedic section of the Cotabato Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Cotabato City.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa mga tumulong sa amin,” an emotional Toniakao said.

The latest to extend assistance to the Toniakaos was Maguindanao First District Rep. Sandra Sema, who has a contingency fund deposited in the CRMC, intended for medical expenses of her indigent constituents.

Sema on Saturday said the CRMC’s finance department can deduct from the fund P5,000 to pay for the hospital bill of Reina Mae.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu said he had ordered the provincial government’s relief team, led by his budget staff, Lynette Estandarte, to attend to the needs of all flood and landslide victims in North Upi.

The governor’s office had earlier dispersed 50 bags of rice and other food provisions to affected North Upi residents, delivered by a group, accompanied by health workers who also facilitated free medical services.

Mangudadatu said employees of the provincial government have repacked into individual ration kits in the past two days more than 5 tons of food supplies for distribution to more than 20 flooded towns in the province.

The provincial board on Friday declared under state of calamity 26 of the 36 towns in the province as floodwaters spawned by heavy rains continued spreading through low-lying areas that are criss-crossed by rivers and dotted with swamps that connect to the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta.

The Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Relief Team (HEART) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao donated last Thursday P10,000 for the medicines of Toniakao through Shirley Salik, chief of the CRMC’s social welfare office.

ARMM officials and the mayor of North Upi, Ramon Piang Sr., had also collected donations for the construction of a low-cost core shelter for the Toniakao family.

Reina Mae’s twin sibling, Ranin, perished in the landslide, which was caused by heavy downpours two days before.

Ranin was buried alive when mud and rocks loosened by heavy rains cascaded from a nearby hill and covered their house, made only of bamboos and coconut palms.