Robredo wishes she had more resources for typhoon-battered Bicol

Vice President Leni Robredo also visited several parts of Albay on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in line with her office’s ongoing relief efforts for areas hit by Super Typhoon Rolly. VP Leni went to Tabaco North Central Elementary School in Bombon, Tabaco City, one of the pilot areas of the OVP’s Community Learning Hub initiative. The school, including the CLH area, currently serves as an evacuation center. The Vice President also went around Barangay Tayhi, a coastal community that was among the worst-hit areas in the city. She was joined by Mayor Krisel Lagman and other local officials. The OVP also brought relief assistance for affected families. Photo by OVP

MANILA, Philippines — After witnessing the devastation wrought by Typhoon Rolly on the Bicol Region, her political stronghold, Vice President Leni Robredo wished she “had more resources or more mandate” to extend help to more communities.

After her visit on Monday to Camarines Sur, one of the provinces in the region hit hardest by the world’s strongest typhoon so far this year, Robredo recounted the scenes of chaos she saw along the way.

“Signs of the devastation became apparent when we reached Tagkawayan, Quezon, and became worse when we entered the Bicol Region,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

One of Robredo’s stops was an evacuation center at Barangay Sabang, in the coastal town of Calabanga, Camarines Sur. Evacuees there told her that the roof of the classroom they had sought shelter in was ripped away by Rolly’s strong winds.

Robredo also visited another small coastal village nearby, where the majority of houses were flattened by Rolly.

“If only we have enough resources, it would be best to help them rebuild better so that they would not have to relive the horrors every time there is a typhoon.”