Eight hours to reach battered Davao towns

What normally takes two to three hours’ travel by road from Davao City took at least eight hours on the wake of typhoon Pablo as several bridges were damaged and roads, strewn with debris, remain virtually impassable.

This was what the team from Smart Communications Inc. went through on their way to Baganga and Cateel towns in Davao Oriental to bring truckloads of relief goods.

The two towns were devastated. Not one structure was left standing, including agricultural crops and sources of potable water supply. Apart from losing their loved ones, houses and livelihood, typhoon victims had to grapple with the lack of food and clean water for drinking.

The MPIC Group, led by the PLDT-Smart Foundation, conducted relief operations in the town of Baganga, distributing around 1,000 bags of relief good, 1,000 buckets with basins, 2,000 six-liter bottles of water to typhoon victims in barangays Lambajon, Tuajon, San Victor, Kinablangan and Ban-ao.

The same quantity of relief goods were turned over to Mayor Camilo Nunez of Cateel.

Maynilad Water Services Inc. provided a water purifying machine to the town of Cateel, while Smart endorsed Lifestraw instant microbiological purifiers to the Baganga local government to be distributed to its 18 barangays.

The entire group shored up resources to bring food and water to the remaining residents in the area.

Since power and communications have yet to be restored in the area, the group also provided interim solutions to service the power and communication needs not only of the residents but also of aid agencies and disaster management teams operating in the area.

Smart, in partnership with NGO Telecoms Sans Frontieres (Telecoms Without Borders), has been providing free call and Internet service via BGAN Satellite broadband terminals in Cateel municipal hall and Baganga Action Center located at the Public Works and Highways compound.

BGAN is the world’s first mobile communications service to deliver broadband data and voice, simultaneously, through a single, truly portable device, via satellite.

Apart from the goods, One Meralco Foundation also provided generator sets to the Baganga and Cateel Typhoon Pablo Command Centers to assist in relief efforts.