Army donates 2-day meal allowance to quake victims

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Army yesterday turned over a check worth P9.2 million as donation to earthquake victims in Mindanao.

The amount represents the meal allowance of Army soldiers for two days.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Macairog Alberto led the turnover of the check to 10th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Jose Faustino Jr. and Disaster Response Task Force head Brig. Gen. Rodolfo Lavadia Jr.

“In these trying times, we are in solidarity with the people of Mindanao,” Alberto said.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the money would be used to purchase a 4.9-hectare land and materials for the construction of Kobe-type houses to be used as temporary shelter for families displaced by the quakes.

Zagala said each house would cost around P50,000 and could accommodate a family of seven.

He said 60 percent of houses in Makilala, North Cotabato were destroyed by the quakes. 

 Eight of 38 barangays  in the town were also declared “no-build zones.” The Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau said the villages are uninhabitable while aftershocks are recurring.