Aid worker headed for typhoon-ravaged town dies in road accident; 2 others hurt

CARAGA, Davao Oriental – An aid worker was killed while two others were injured when the truck they were riding in crashed in a village here while on their way to one of the areas hardest hit by Typhoon “Pablo,” according to authorities.

The aid workers, who were sent by the Mati City government, were on their way Baganga town to put up a soup kitchen for typhoon survivors there when the truck fell on its side as it negotiated a curb in Barangay (village) Naynangan here.

Killed was Diosdado Pasao, whose body was later pulled out from underneath boxes of bottled water.

The names of the injured, who were rushed to hospitals, were not immediately available.

In New Bataan, Compostela Valley, Pablo survivors continue to get relief goods and will be given noche buena packs so they could still feel the spirit of Christmas despite the tragedy, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said on Friday.

The noche buena food packs, according to Soliman, would be given out starting December 22.

“These were not intended for a grandiose celebration, we could not afford to hand out hams but these would definitely not contain sardines. At least the mood of each family would be akin to a fiesta,” Soliman told the survivors during a dialogue.

On the government’s relief efforts, Soliman said her department has so far distributed more than 30,000 food packs for 10,000 displaced families in New Bataan, Compostela Valley and other affected communities in Davao Oriental.