VP to send relief packs to families in ‘Nona’-hit Northern Samar

CATARMAN, Northern Samar—Vice President Jejomar Binay is sending at least 1,000 relief packs to families affected by Typhoon “Nona” in Northern Samar, the worst hit province in Eastern Visayas.

He said the relief packs would consist of food items such as coffee, rice and canned goods, which would arrive by Tuesday.

Binay said the relief packs would come from financial assistance he solicited from his friends because his office had no more funds.

“Ako, wala na akong kabudget-budget. Noon sana meron akong pantulong pero tinanggal eh. Meron sana pero naubos na yong pantulong ko sa calamity kung saan na lang ako nanghingi sa mga kaibigan (My office no longer have budget [for relief assistance]. Before, I used to have a budget for financial assistance but it was removed. There used to be little funds for calamity assistance but it ran out. So I just asked help from my friends),” he said.

Binay also provided financial assistance to the family of Elpidio Pedamonte in Barangay Imelda, Mondragon town, who died during the typhoon.

Binay flew to Northern Samar on Monday to visit Catarman and several towns hit by Nona.

He was the the first national government official to visit the province after the typhoon that left in its wake P974 million in damages.

“The report we received from our briefing with (Northern Samar) Gov. (Jose) Ong is that 90 percent of the province was devastated by the typhoon. We were also informed 24 towns were affected and that only five percent electricity in the province has been restored,” the Vice President said.

After visiting Catarman, the Vice President also conducted ocular inspections in the towns of Bobon, San Jose, Rosario, Lavezares, and Allen.

During his visit to the affected areas, Binay urged local government units to support national government efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. At the same time, the Vice President also called on the national government to assist LGUs, especially in disaster response.

“If we look at the past three or four years, the strongest typhoons that hit our country arrived in November and December. This is becoming the new normal and so should always remain vigilant even during the holiday season,” he said.

“Climate change is a reality that must be addressed head on. We should shore up programs on disaster resiliency,” Binay added.

According to the initial report of the Eastern Visayas Regional Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council, Nona destroyed nearly 65,000 houses in Northern Samar during its onslaught last week.

Disaster response agencies also pegged the damage to public infrastructure at P743.43 million and to agriculture, P230.587 million.

The Northern Samar Electric Cooperative, meanwhile, said the earliest it could restore normal service is on Dec. 22.

Binay said he was saddened by what happened to the residents of Northern Samar, one of the country’s poorest provinces.