GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 2 Dec) – The city government has chosen the municipality of Guiuan and the city of Borongan in Eastern Samar as beneficiaries of its P6.5-million relief grant for areas affected by super typhoon “Yolanda.”
Luzvimi Entila Jr., acting head of the City Public Information Office, said the local government is currently working on the release of the financial assistance to the local government units (LGUs) of Guiuan and Borongan, which were among the areas that were badly devastated by the onslaught of the typhoon last November 8.
He said the adoption of the two LGUs as beneficiaries of the cash donation was based on a endorsement from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC).
The CDRRMC’s recommendation was already submitted to the Sangguniang Panlungsod for approval, he said.
“Based on documents from the national government, the two areas are considered as among the least attended and unaided,” Entila said in a statement.
He noted that the local government of Borongan reported that a total of 74,770 residents in the area were directly affected by the typhoon while Guiuan municipal officials listed around 54,000 residents.
Entila said most of the affected residents were said to be living “without roof due to the devastation from the super typhoon.”
Guiuan, which is located at the southernmost tip of Samar Island, has a number of isolated island barangays that are difficult to reach for agencies distributing relief goods, he noted.
Owing to this, he said the CDRRMC members unanimously agreed to send P3 million in cash donation to Borongan and the remaining P3.5 million to Guiuan.
Entila said P169,000 more donated by local residents will be sent to Borongan.
The official, who is also a member of the CDRRMC, said the cash donations will be turned over directly to the two LGUs to augment their continuing relief initiatives.
City Mayor Ronnel Rivera initially delivered over the weekend some P3.5 million in cash assistance to the local governments of Ormoc and Tacloban cities.
Lawyer Arnel Zapatos, city administrator, said they opted to instead deliver cash assistance to the affected areas instead of sending relief packs due to time constraints.
The CDRRMC passed a resolution last November 13 allocating some P10 million from the city’s disaster quick response funds as relief assistance for the victims of typhoon “Yolanda.”
Of the appropriation, P6.5 million was set aside as financial assistance while the remaining P3.5 million would be utilized for the delivery of 10,000 relief packs.
The resolution was unanimously endorsed by the city council in a special session held on November 15.
On top of the cash assistance, the city government earlier sent family food packs and non-food relief items donated by local residents.
The City Social Welfare and Development Office, which spearheaded the relief campaign, had sent the donated relief goods in batches through the Philippine Navy. (MindaNews)