The Cebu City Government was remiss in timely distributing relief goods as well as in immediately using financial donations meant for victims of Typhoon Tino, which caused devastation in Cebu last November, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).
As per a story in this newspaper, COA said donated relief items like canned goods, rice, bottled water, modular tents, hygiene kits, and other essential supplies remained undistributed as of December 31, 2025.
COA said a warehouse inspection conducted on January 29, 2026, confirmed “significant quantities of relief goods were still in storage” despite a COA circular requiring the immediate distribution of donated goods, particularly perishable items.
COA also added that ?9.43 million in cash specifically intended for Typhoon Tino victims had yet to be used, saying that not using the money "defeated the purpose of the donation and the good intention of the donors."
But that ?9.43 million was only part of a total of ?16.09 million in cash donations not used. COA said ?2.27 million in donations for Typhoon Odette, ?4.37 million for victims of the Bogo earthquake, and ?25,567 for the Davao earthquake also remained unused.
That’s a lot of money and items. Money and items that could have helped a lot of people had it been distributed on time.
Typhoon Tino left 33 dead in Cebu City and 96 dead in Cebu Province after massive flooding in different areas. Entire neighborhoods were left devastated and many families were displaced.
The time immediately after a disaster is crucial. That’s when people who lost homes, livelihoods, or even loved ones need relief and financial assistance the most. Not two or three weeks later when some semblance of normalcy has been restored.
Hopefully, the Cebu City Government can learn from this mistake.
We need not worry; considering how we are frequently hit by natural disasters, it will have more chances to do better.
Or perhaps, after seeing that aid for Typhoon Odette, the Bogo earthquake, and the Davao earthquake also remained unused, maybe we do need to worry.
BLURB:
“That’s a lot of money and items that could have helped a lot of people had it been distributed on time.”