Aquino orders DSWD to assist flood victims in Mindanao

RESCUE MISSION. Police rescue trapped residents following a flashflood that inundated Cagayan de Oro city, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. Tropical storm “Sendong” (international codename: Washi) triggered flashfloods in the southern Philippines, killing scores of people and missing more. Mayor Lawrence Cruz of nearby Iligan said the coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off his coastal city for survivors or bodies that may have been swept to the sea by a swollen river. AP

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III has directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Interior and Local Government to attend to the needs of the victims of massive flooding in Iligan City, Cagayan De Oro and nearby areas due to Tropical Storm “Sendong.”

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Aquino was personally monitoring developments in the affected areas and was scheduled to be briefed on the situation at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Camp Aguinaldo.

“The President is already aware of the situation. He is being updated by Secretary [Corazon] Dinky Soliman of the DSWD and Secretary Jesse Robredo of DILG,” Valte said on radio.

“The President has also given directives to extend the assistance within the capabilities of the two agencies to Cagayan de Oro and to Iligan,” she added.

Valte said there were now 10 evacuation centers in Cagayan De Oro. The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police have mobilized search-and-rescue units in the city.

The Bureau of Fire Protection in the area has also been instructed to augment the supply of water in areas where supply has been disrupted.

In Iligan, Valte said, the repacking of relief goods for the affected barangays has started and they expect the goods to be delivered this afternoon.

Valte said that she has received an advisory that as of 9:20 a.m., the flood waters had started to subside.