Volunteers and OVP staffers pack hygiene kits for communities affected by Tropical Storm Auring. (Photo from VP Leni Robredo’s Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has started packing hygiene kits that would be distributed to communities affected by Tropical Storm Auring.
In a post on Vice President Leni Robredo’s official Facebook page on Monday, several volunteers were seen helping in sorting and packing the hygiene kits at the OVP building in New Manila, Quezon City.
Robredo said that several of the hygiene packs also came from donations — just like what happened during the height of typhoons last November 2020.
“Sinimulan ng OVP ang linggong ito sa paghahanda ng hygiene kits para sa mga komunidad na nasalanta ng Bagyong #AuringPH,” Robredo said.
(OVP has started this week by preparing hygiene kits for the communities affected by Tropical Storm Auring.)
“Maraming salamat sa ating mga donors at sa lahat ng ating mga kapwa Pilipino na patuloy na nagpapaabot ng kanilang tulong. Salamat po sa inyong pakikiisa!” she added.
(Thank you very much for our donors and our fellow Filipinos who continue to reach out to provide assistance. Thank you for your support!)
This is not the first time Robredo’s office — which has looked like every bit of a storage room nowadays — participated in relief efforts. During a series of successive storms late October to November which included Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoon Ulysses, OVP also sent aid to people affected in Bicol Region, Southern Luzon, Metro Manila, and Cagayan de Oro.
Robredo’s office also launched several relief operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and when the Taal Volcano erupted last January 2020.
As of now, state meteorologists said that Auring was reduced to a low pressure area after interaction with the northeast monsoon and mountainous terrains.
But before Auring weakened, it threatened Caraga Region with strong winds, appearing to be the most affected area as several towns in Surigao del Sur were flooded and were without electricity for several hours.
Then, photos from the Public Information Agency in Surigao del Norte also showed various structures including roads, bridges, and dikes being destroyed while Auring moved near Caraga.