Typhoon-hit Ilocos taps MMDA for restoration works

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – A team from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has been sent to Ilocos Norte to help in the recovery effort following the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Mario.

Team leader Roy Gonzales said his group – composed of rescue personnel, carpenters, mechanics, electricians and laborers – would help the provincial government in the repair of schools, electric posts and other vital facilities.

The MMDA team brought with them 15 generator sets for villages whose power supply has yet to be restored, as well as galvanized iron sheets for schools whose roofs were blown away during the storm.

Ilocos Norte and the nearby provinces of Ilocos Sur and Abra have been placed under a state of calamity.

Ilocos Norte was the worst-hit province in the Northern Luzon region in terms of damage to agriculture and infrastructure. Gov. Imee Marcos said the total damage in Ilocos Norte alone could reach P1.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Ilocos Sur Gov. Ryan Luis Singson thanked Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Cynthia Villar for helping his constituents affected by Mario.

Singson said Binay sent 5,000 packs of relief goods while Villar lent them a helicopter, allowing them to survey the damage left by the storm in 14 municipalities and deliver relief goods to Sugpon town.

Singson is appealing to the national government to immediately release the province’s share of tobacco excise tax revenues, which he said would be used in the recovery efforts.

Of the province’s 768 villages, 471 were hit by the storm, with 53,102 families affected.