Church readies aid for northern Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - Apart from the government and the private sector, the Roman Catholic Church is also getting ready to extend aid for northern Cebu, which is still recovering from the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda last year but is likely to be affected the most by typhoon Ruby in the province.

The Archdiocese of Cebu Relief and Rehabilitation Unit (RRU) is currently in northern Cebu to assess preparedness and immediately assist once Ruby would have already passed.

In their first report made the other day, Fr. Charles Louis Jayme, RRU chief, said evacuation centers have been set up in Bogo City and the nearby localities.

Father Jayme’s team, comprising 21 staff members and 10 parish priests, coordinates relief and rehabilitation efforts following its establishment in Bogo City last April.

“So far, mobilized na tanan. Naduaw nako ang areas ganina and okay na. We have started our purchases for the initial relief (operation),” Jayme told The FREEMAN.

He said their prepared relief goods, which are good for 200 families, which include food items (rice and canned goods), tarpaulin to be used as temporary roofing, jerry cans for drinking water storage, emergency shelter kit, and medicine.

RRU has been complementing government efforts by attending coordination meetings with local government units.

It has also linked with Caritas Cebu, Caritas Switzerland, Sto. Niño Foundation, and Seaknights for logistical and relief operation needs.

The covered court inside the archbishop’s residence in Cebu City is where relief goods repacking will be done.

All parishes within the Archdiocese of Cebu’s jurisdiction have also been alerted for individual relief operations just in case relief packing inside the archbishop’s residence would not be enough.  Three RRU vehicles composed of one truck and two multicab units are on standby in the event that the relief operations shall have started.

Jayme expressed relief that Ruby has weakened as it nears to making its first landfall. And although recent development shows that the typhoon would most likely not directly hit Cebu province, Jayme stressed that the level of preparation and vigilance must be sustained.

“We are grateful for that development. I learned about it from the PDRRMO (Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office). It’s still calm here but naa nay hangin. On and off ang hangin. No rain pa as of now,” Jayme said, describing the scenario in northern Cebu on the eve of the expected landfall of Ruby.

“At least, everybody is prepared. The churches, parish halls, schools, basketball courts have been used as evacuation centers. Mas maayo pa nga overprepared ta kay daghan ta’g ma-save, no casualty.  Bahala na ang livestock basta safe ang kinabuhi sa tawo,” he added.

The RRU was likewise tasked by the archdiocese to disseminate the Catholic Church’s Oratio Imperata (mandated prayer), which calls for the sparing of Cebu and the country from yet another destructive weather phenomenon.

The Oratio Imperata, a Roman Catholic invocative prayer intended to be recited until super typhoon Ruby exits the country, was released last December 4.

RRU is also considering the revival of the “Adopt-A-Parish” program, as it was considered the “highest possibility for assessment and assistance to the parishes in the north.”

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma has earlier announced that Catholic churches, aside from government structures, could be tapped as possible evacuation centers for fleeing residents.  Meanwhile, government agencies in Central Visayas are now on standby and ready are to deploy once given the order.

In a press briefing led by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Philippine Coast Guard PCG said it has already prevented any type of sea vessel from traveling since last night.

The PCG has also alerted its medical teams for possible rescue operations. In Cebu alone, it has a total of 15 aluminum boats and four rubber boats ready for deployment.

The Visayan Electric Company has likewise also assured that it would deploy its frontline responders immediately after the typhoon.  VECO officials said they have motorcycle-riding teams on standby which will set out to affected areas to fix damaged electric poles and connections.

VECO has also augmented the number of its call center personnel from 10 to 50 to prepare for the rise of typhoon-related concerns.

VECO officials shared that it took them six months to bring power back to its normal status in all its franchise areas after last year’s super typhoon Yolanda.

But they also assured consumers they would not be imposing higher fees in connection with their typhoon preparations and post-typhoon operations.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District reported it is ready to restore water supply by 57 percent in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Talisay and the towns of Liloan, Compostela, Consolacion and Cordova.

MCWD has a total of 35 standby generator sets, 23 of which are movable units that could be mobilized once there is power outage.

According to RDRRMC-7, all towns in northern Cebu have been advised to do preemptive evacuation, as Project NOAH has declared all these towns as storm surge-prone areas.

These areas include the towns of Bantayan, Madridejos, Santa Fe, Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remigio, Tabuela, Tuburan, Borbon, Tabogon and the city of Bogo.

PNP personnel are also on standby and ready to move while all their leaves have been recalled. — /RHM (FREEMAN)