Negotiations between survivors of typhoon Pablo and the Department of Social Welfare and Development on the delivery of relief goods ended on Wednesday night, breaking days of tensions and skirmishes between local authorities and the communities.
Angry typhoon-affected residents protested at the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development here on Tuesday to call for the ouster of Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman for the “corruption and inept implementation” of relief and rehabilitation operations in areas devastated by typhoon Pablo (international code name Bopha).
One person was killed and over 8,000 people have fled their homes due to flooding in Davao del Norte on Sunday, officials said.
The Government Service Insurance System said the deadline for the filing of applications for the emergency loans of those affected by typhoon “Pablo” has been extended by two weeks until Jan. 18.
Maria Rodriguez, 65, walks around what was once her community in Ban-ao here. After finding what she was looking for, she picks them up, then walks to her new home—a tent.
Almost a month after typhoon Pablo (Bopha) flattened this town on Dec. 4, officials here urged residents to unite in the face of the daunting tasks of rebuilding and reconstruction, admitting that it would take them some time to get over the loss of lives and property.
Electric cooperatives officials took turns, on Saturday, in criticizing the power industry’s big three – the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and the National Power Corp. (NPC)—for their “sluggish response” in restoring full power supply in areas devastated by typhoon Pablo, particularly Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental, Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Sur.
The residents of Roxas City and three nearby municipalities have difficulty getting their potable water requirement as the water from Panay River, the only water source, has been contaminated with silt.
Some P32 million in crops were lost in Bicol due to widespread flooding spawned by torrential rains brought on by tropical storm Quinta on Wednesday, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Friday.
The National Democratic Front (NDF) has assured relief volunteers of their safety in hinterland villages devastated by typhoon “Pablo.”
Since Christmas Eve, typhoon evacuees here have been anxiously asking about the new weather disturbance, which they feared could hit their already devastated communities in Compostela Valley.
The tenants are moving out, leaving behind the typhoon-devastated coconut plantations and their landlords.
Bonifacio Adlawan, 54, admitted the difficulty of accepting that his wife, Carmelita, 48, could be among the hundreds who died during typhoon Pablo’s onslaught here last week.
