Negros Occidental in state of calamity

BACOLOD CITY , Philippines   â€” The province of Negros Occidental is now under a state of calamity after thousands of its residents were displaced by massive floods and landslides due to four days of heavy rains, with an estimated P56 million in damages to crops, fisheries, livestock and infrastructure.

Vice Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the Provincial Board unanimously adopted a resolution of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) recommending such action.

Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., who heads the PDRRMC, convened the PDRRMC last Monday to approve a resolution asking the PB to declare the province under a state of calamity and recommending the utilization of the 30-Percent Quick Response Fund of the PDRRMC budget for 2013—equivalent to P28.7 million—to help the affected LGUs.

Three of the hardest hit LGUs—Ilog and Hinobaan towns and Sipalay City—have declared a state of calamity.

The PDRRMC reported that 15 of the 31 towns and cities in Negros Occidental, excluding Bacolod, located in the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th districts, were hit with floods due to continuous rains from Oct. 3 to 6 that were triggered by the southwest monsoon.

Provincial Social Welfare Officer Liane Garcia reported that 2,313 families, or 13,568 individuals, were displaced by the flood, although evacuees in many affected LGUs have already returned to their homes after the floodwater subsided Tuesday.

The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist also reported that losses in crops, fisheries and infrastructure, especially irrigation systems went up to P56,109,048 that is expected to increase as validation is still going on.

Landslides were also reported in the hinterland barangays of Pinggot, Canlamay and Balicotoc, all in Ilog town, as well as in Don Salvador Benedicto and La Castellana towns and in highways leading to the southernmost town of Hinobaan.

The Capitol is also giving cash assistance to flood victims whose houses were either destroyed or damaged. Marañon said families with totally damaged houses will receive a cash assistance of P5,000 each. A total of 49 houses were destroyed, while 121 had been partially damaged. Farmers will also receive assistance for damaged palays, he added.

With this development, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), through its president and general manager Robert Vergara, has also approved the granting of emergency loans to members living in flood-hit areas in the province, namely the cities of Sipalay, Kabankalan, La Carlota and Himamaylan and the towns of San Enrique, Moises Padilla, La Castellana, Isabela, Ilog, Hinobaan, Hinigaran, Candoni and Binalbagan. (FREEMAN)