Relief aid distribution a problem, says official

The problem in the earthquake-devastated parts of Central Visayas is not the lack of funds to help the victims, but the distribution of relief stocks, a civil defense official said on Monday.

“There are a lot of people and groups who want to help, but our problem is logistics and distribution on the ground,” Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), told reporters in Malacañang.

“Availability is not a problem because we have a stockpile available,” Del Rosario said, responding to questions about the status of the government’s calamity fund.

Many survivors in Bohol, epicenter of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that devastated the island province, had complained that they had yet to receive help from the government three days after the temblor struck last Tuesday.

Those who had received assistance complained that the aid was too little, good for only one day.

The complaints had people asking whether the government’s calamity fund was drying up.

“We are serving 400,000 people and we cannot say we can reach out to 100 percent,” Del Rosario said.

“There might be 1 or 2 or 3 percent who have not been reached by our relief operations. Once they tell us their location, we can bring the relief items good for 20 families in a barangay (village) in one hour,” he said.

On reports that mayors were giving priority to their allies in the distribution of relief stocks, Del Rosario said the public should give more slack to municipal mayors who were serving 40,000 to 50,000 people in challenging conditions.

“Let’s not impute any political color, probably they are just facing manpower problems in the distribution. We are talking about traveling for four, six hours in areas that could not be reached by land,” he said.

Del Rosario dismissed concerns about lack of funds, noting that the relief centers were well stocked considering that provinces and towns have their own calamity funds to work with.

Maj. Rey Balido, operations chief of the NDRRMC, said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had set up 96 evacuation centers in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, Negros Occidental, Iloilo and Guimaras Island, which were serving more than 109,000 people as well as 271,000 others who were seeking temporary shelter with their relatives or friends.

Bridges repaired

Of the 37 bridges damaged by the quake, only three—the Hualong, Abatan and Taguani bridges—are still undergoing repairs, Balido said.

He said West Bohol was the hardest-hit among the provinces with 44,781 houses damaged, or 98 percent of the 45,641 total houses distressed by the temblor.

The Department of Public Works and Highways pegged the damage to infrastructure in Bohol at P763 million, or 88 percent of the P867.24 million total damage for Central Visayas.

Balido said the Philippine Air Force had so far conducted 16 flight missions to bring a total of 18 tons of relief and equipment such as generator sets, water purifiers and medical supplies.

Balido said two more flights were scheduled to bring an additional 50,000 pounds of relief and equipment.

He said the Philippine Navy had also made 20 trips that brought in 512,397 pounds of relief items from the DSWD to Cebu and Bohol.

Balido said the power supply was back in practically all of the towns and municipalities while all gasoline stations had resumed business.

Ready stockpile

Director Resty Macuto of the DSWD said his agency had given out P6.9 million worth of relief, adding that the agency had a ready stockpile of food items at its national headquarters, allowing it to ship 10,000 food packs immediately after the quake.

“We gave out tents, which the people preferred because they were worried about staying indoors due to the continuing aftershocks,” Macuto said.

He said seven helicopters were on stand-by to deliver relief stocks to hard-to-reach areas in Tagbilaran City.

Members of the Senate have proposed to augment the calamity fund with unreleased money from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), which the Supreme Court has ordered frozen temporarily while it handles petitions for the abolition of the pork barrel.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said Monday that the senators were to introduce a resolution to express their sense that the remaining money in the PDAF should be realigned to boost President Aquino’s calamity fund.

More funds

In the House of Representatives, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said the government did not have to tap into the Disbursement Acceleration Program to aid the earthquake victims.

Colmenares said that besides the P1.4 billion remaining in the calamity fund, there is P3.4 billion in quick response funds in the budget of different agencies and a P14-billion school building fund in the DPWH budget.—With reports from TJ Burgonio and Leila Salaverria