Newsbriefs

Cayetano: No finger pointing

SEN. Alan Peter Cayetano visited the fourth district of Cebu on Sunday to distribute relief goods. He called on Filipinos to unite and refrain from “finger pointing.”

The national government especially has to also recognize and learn from their mistakes in handling post typhoon operations.

Cayetano is proposing the creation of an Emergency Response Department (ERD) and the appointment of an emergency response director who will be point person of the government’s disaster response efforts. His ERD bill is now pending in senate.

He is also studying the possibility of the creation of a disaster rehabilitation commission.

The ERD Secretary will also be doing a full time job and will be readily available to explain what a storm surge is, for example. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac

Mandaue mulls aid for stallholders

THE Mandaue City Council passed on first reading an ordinance granting monetary aid to market stallholders who were displaced after the October 15 earthquake.

Jimmy Lumapas, the author of the ordinance, proposed giving P5,000 to stallholders who can no longer resume selling inside the earthquake-damaged public market.

The council held an emergency session yesterday morning and approved the proposal on first reading. Like all other measures, this proposal will still have to go through second and third readings.

City Treasurer Regal Oliva was asked to formulate the guidelines within a week after its third and final reading.

Market administrator Musoline Sulliva said there are about 1,300 stallholders.

It took about a week or two for some vendors to resume their trade after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake./Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos