In gov’t absence in Ormoc, private efforts fill gap in bringing relief
Passengers bound for Ormoc City, which was also devastated by Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” queue to board a vessel from the Cebu City port unmindful of bad weather brought by Tropical Depression “Zoraida.” Officials said at least 95 percent of houses were either destroyed or damaged in Ormoc. JUNJIE MENDOZA/CEBU DAILY NEWS
CEBU CITY—The private sector is filling the gap left by the absence of government in Ormoc City, Leyte, paving the way for relief goods to start trickling in into the province’s second-biggest city that is suffering, too, from the devastation left by Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”
On Sunday, Christina Frasco, niece of Mayor Edward Codilla, took a speed boat from Cebu to Ormoc to bring relief goods.
In a phone interview, Frasco said she was shocked to learn that she was the first to bring in relief goods to Ormoc.
On Monday, she said she and her group were able to send two dump trucks of relief goods to Ormoc. The goods included rice, canned goods, noodles and bread from Titay’s a delicacy bakeshop based in Liloan, Cebu, owned by the family of her husband, Liloan Mayor Duke Frasco.
Frasco said 2GO Shipping Lines agreed to bring in the relief goods to Ormoc for free.
According to Frasco, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. committed to help.
Several drop-off points had been established to accept donations.
These are Titay’s Raintree Mall, Politics on Escario Central Mall, Gilt in Crossroads, San Jose Bakeshop branches and Rescue Bar and Lounge, all in Cebu City. Also, the municipal social welfare and development office and Liloan municipal hall in Liloan town.
According to Frasco, what she saw when she visited Ormoc on Sunday was shocking. At least 95 percent of houses were either destroyed or damaged. Century-old trees were gone. Power posts were toppled.
Roads are unpassable as debris block the way but clearing operations can’t proceed because even those who are supposed to do the clearing are victims of the typhoon, too, she said.
Many upland villages, said Frasco, remained inaccessible.
The people of Ormoc, however, have kept their concern for the people of Tacloban despite themselves being in a difficult situation.
Help, however, is still needed in Ormoc, said Frasco. A city hospital, Ormoc Sugar Planters Association Hospital, had been destroyed.
“The ER (emergency room) collapsed. The ICU (intensive care unit) collapsed. The laboratory collapsed,” said Frasco.
Power and communication have not been fully restored in Ormoc, she said.
In an earlier interview, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez (Leyte, fourth district), a native of Ormoc, said residents started to sleep on the streets.
She said the devastation did not distinguish between the rich and poor. “Usually in times like these, the rich ones help the poor ones,” said Torres-Gomez. “But not this one. The poor and the rich are in the same boat,” she said.
