Batangas tremor losses reach P2B

“Outpatients” get new meaning at Batangas Medical Center postquake. —KRISTINE DE VERA/CONTRIBUTOR

The recent earthquake swarm in Batangas province left P2-billion worth of damage, most of these on houses, churches, government buildings and business establishments, an official of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) said.

Lito Castro, PDRRMC head, said his agency would begin distributing construction materials on Monday to help communities rebuild.

These include 8,500 bags of cement and thousands of plywood boards and iron sheets bought using funds from the PDRRMC and local governments.

In Mabini town, Mayor Noel Luistro said the local government would forego the celebration of the town fiesta as residents reeled from trauma caused by the recent earthquakes.

The plaza was earlier adorned by colorful buntings for the April 25 feast in honor of the town’s patron, San Francisco de Paula.

“We’ve decided to scrap the festivities and instead offer Mass,” Luistro said. “In times of calamities, we should remember our kababayan (townmates) who were affected.”

On April 8, Batangas was struck by a magnitude-6 earthquake that was felt at Intensity VII in Mabini. The quake came four days after a 5.5-magnitude tremor hit the province. These major earthquakes damaged several infrastructures and houses in the province, particularly in Mabini, sowing fear and causing trauma on residents.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology had recorded more than 2,000 earthquakes in Batangas from April 4 to April 11.

But Luistro, on Wednesday, said things were starting to normalize in his town, with people slowly returning to their homes.

The Mabini General Hospital resumed normal operation as repairs started, said local doctor, Oliver Bautista.