Laguna storm damage: P126M

STA. CRUZ, Laguna—A total of P126 million worth of rice, fruits and crops were destroyed in Laguna province by floods induced by Tropical Storm “Maring,” according to the Department of Agriculture.

Juanito Samson, officer in charge of the provincial agriculture office, said Mabitac town suffered the brunt of the destruction, with nearly 1,000 hectares of farms destroyed.

The town of Bay, said Samson, suffered the heaviest damage in terms of vegetable farms, with P1.8 million in vegetable farms destroyed in the town.

At least 106 ha of lanzones and rambutan trees worth more than P2 million were destroyed in Siniloan town, he said.

More than 149,000 persons in 14 towns and cities, and from 108 villages in the province had been displaced by the floods, though nearly all of them have returned to their homes, according to Ernesto Montecillo, provincial director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, in a report on Aug. 24. Romulo Ponte, Inquirer Southern Luzon