Gov’t sets aside P42M for speedy relief operations during typhoon Pablo

Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman INQUIRER.net/Matikas Santos

MANILA, Philippines — The government has set aside some P42 million in standby fund and relief goods for provinces in the path of typhoon “Pablo’’ in Visayas and Mindanao, Malacañang officials said on Monday.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has set aside some P38.6 million in relief provisions for Regions 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 13 or the Caraga Region, on top of some P3.7 million in standby fund, said Undersecretary Abigail Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman has also activated “quick response teams’’ for possible relief operations and evacuation centers for typhoon victims. Some local government units have begun evacuating residents ahead of the landfall of the typhoon, Valte said.

“So more or less we are readying cities in Mindanao and in Visayas…just to make sure. It looks like Caraga Region will be directly hit, and everyone is hoping that it won’t be that fierce. It has slightly weakened and we’re hoping that this will continue,’’ she said.

Valte said that the weather bureau has been warning of the entry of the typhoon and in effect, has given local government units “ample time’’ to prepare for its landfall.

President Benigno Aquino III met with officials of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council and the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration to get an update on contingency plans and preparations at around 1:30 p.m. in Malacañang, Valte said.