Although Baybay City, located about 90 kilometers south of Tacloban City was not as badly hit by supertyphoon Yolanda as the provincial capital, food supply has started to dwindle because of hoarding by some unscrupulous businessmen and looting by some people.
Maloth Galenzoga, a businesswoman and Baybay City mayoral candidate in the May 13 elections, also expressed fear that peace and order in the city might break down.
“Tacloban has become very chaotic because people’s concerns were not addressed. Baybay is already affected because looters have started to strike in our place to steal food,” she said.
Galenzoga said food shortage could have been avoided if the provincial and national government were able to immediately send food and other supplies like fuel and medicines.
Residents of nearby cities and towns like Tacloban and Tolosa travel on foot to Baybay City after the typhoon to buy food and gasoline.
Because of the demand, the price of commercial rice has increased from only P1, 600 per sack to at least P2,100.
The cost of kerosene has also increased to P80 per liter while gasoline is now sold at P120 per liter.
A gasoline station closed down on Tuesday due to lack of supply.
Meanwhile, Prof. Tess Tabada of the Visayas State University, confirms reports of the massive devastation in the city and in the university campus. Estimated damage to the university’s buildings alone is around P187 million she said. As of Tuesday only the water supply services have resumed. The command center for relief and emergency work has been established last Tuesday, almost four (4) days after landfall of the typhoon. Many of the major roads remain impassable, Tabada said.
Leyte Gov. Dominico Petilla and Vice Governor Carlo Loreto have reportedly remained in Cebu since the typhoon hit on Friday causing delays in the release of their province’s calamity funds, especially for relief operations.
Galenzoga was in Cebu to visit the Visayas office of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and the JCI Cebu Inc. to get more relief goods for her city.
What is more depressing is that their city has yet to receive any relief goods from the provincial and national government.
Dr. Irma Barbara Guibone said a group of doctors from Baybay City would have wanted to travel to Tacloban City to extend medical assistance but they put off their plans because of safety concerns.