President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to visit typhoon-hit areas in Negros Occidental on Saturday, Nov . 15, as estimated losses to the province reached P1.76 billion on Friday.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he was informed that the president’s visit will depend on the weather on Saturday.
Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian met with Lacson and officials of the affected areas on Friday to listen to their concerns so they can be acted on.
Lacson said “I asked if it is possible for the national government to set aside certain funds so we can start repairing our bridges”.
Gatchalian assured him that he will bring it up with the president, Lacson said.
“The earlier that we fix the bridges, there will be a sense of normalcy in the area,” Lacson said.
Because the bridges have been damaged or destroyed a big portion of the population have difficulty going to the centers of their towns and cities, Lacson said.
Gatchalian said he was in Negros Occidental on Friday because “the president has instructed me to see to it that all disaster hit areas get the attention that they deserve.”
He said he was meeting with the local officials to understand the peculiar needs of their areas so their can be tailor fit interventions.
Aside from the family foods packs distributed, he said financial assistance would also be given to the typhoon victims.
A provincial government executive brief presented to Gatchalian said Typhoon Tino affected 218,764 families with 792, 251 members in Negros Occidental.
The typhoon destroyed 12,633 houses and damaged 99,081, the report also said.
It placed damage to infrastructure in Negros Occidental at P1,387,960,604, education structures – P172, 841,000, rice – P105,062,252, fisheries – P39,828,142, high value crops – P31,109, 966, corn – P21,182, 016, livestock – P4,063,666, casava – P816,900, and farm machineries – P449,000.
Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya raised the need to repair destroyed and damaged classrooms and houses in Bacolod City.
The typhoon inflicted major damage on 134 classrooms and minor damage to 189 others in Bacolod, he said.
The Bacolod Department of Social Services and Development reported 31,870 houses slightly damaged and 2,935 severely or totally affected, the Bacolod City Communications Office said on Friday.
Other mayors also raised the need for funds to cope with devastation in their areas.*