NAGA CITY— In a visit to landslide survivors in Iraya village on Wednesday, Vice President Leni Robredo said that those who survived the effects of Tropical Depression “Usman” also “need psychological therapy” alongside shelter, and any assistance to help them start over.
Eighteen bodies of landslide victims from the indigenous group Mt. Iraya Agta have either been dug up from the mud or retrieved from other villages across Buhi Lake after floating for days.
On Thursday, Urbanito Capiz, who was buried Wednesday at the Buhi Municipal Cemetery, was identified by his family through photographs, leaving just one missing in Buhi.
“The one I talked to today looked like he was still in a daze,” Robredo told reporters in an interview.
“Apart from psychological therapy, they also need help to start over, especially those who lost their parents,” she said.
She pledged that her office can help provide psychological therapy to residents.
Robredo was in Iraya to give cash assistance to survivors and relief goods, but she said that her office is still looking for a source of funding to help residents rebuild.
“Relief packs are only provisional. What [Buhi] really needs is help for their rehabilitation phase,” she added.
Robredo said that upon her return to Naga City, she will ask the Department of Public Works and Highways to help identify which areas that could be potential residential areas and which areas are dangerous or prone to disasters.
“We are also appealing not just to government agencies but also organizations that render help,” she said.
Due to Usman, at least 14 lakeside villages were submerged under water when the water from Buhi Lake, Rinaga River, and Suwong River overflowed. /ee