Lending a helping hand

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

THE Cebu Provincial Government will donate P17.23 million in cash and goods to help residents of Negros Oriental, who were affected by last week’s earthquake.

Gov. Gwen Garcia will visit Dumaguete City tomorrow to turn over the money to her counterpart, Gov. Rolando Degamo, and to the mayors of the affected towns.

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Some P12,500,000 in financial assistance and P4,737,146.90 worth of relief goods will be deli­vered.

Beneficiaries are the towns of Ayungon, La Libertad, Tayasan, Bindoy, Jimalalud, Vallehermosa and Guihulngan City and the Negros Oriental Provincial Government.

The governor sent Capitol official Edwin Mixdon to Negros Oriental last Friday to assess the damage.

Garcia said three Ca-pitol dumptrucks that transported relief assistance to Negros are still there to help with clearing operations.

Most needed

Cebu contractors also donated 20 drums of heavy equipment fuel.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 is asking for donations to augment its supplies for relief operations in the province hardest hit by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake last Feb.6.

“Our operation center in Cebu is standing by to accept more donations from the public
both in cash and in kind,” said DSWD 7 Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre.

Among the goods identified by DSWD 7 as most needed are food, water, mats, mosquito
nets, blankets, tents and batteries with flashlights.

The agency has delivered 30 tents, 330 mats, 318 blankets, 275 mosquito nets, 2,000 bottles of mineral water and 160 boxes of canned goods a day after the quake.

According to DSWD 7, the earthquake has affected 15,000 families in Negros Oriental.

Some 34,507 families were affected by the earthquake in Central Visayas, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

More deaths

As of yesterday, the number of fatalities rose to 43, with 54 injured and 66 still missing.

The earthquake hit Negros and Cebu islands, as well as other areas in the Visayas and Mindanao, at 11:49 a.m. last Feb. 6. Its epicenter was near Tayasan town.

The agency is conducting relief operations in the towns of La Libertad, Tayasan, Jimalalud, Ayungon and the city of Guihulngan.

It also assisted the Department of Health in setting up temporary hospitals and clinics.

Those who wish to donate may call DSWD 7’s Help Desk at 232-1192 and 233-0261.

In a related development, the Provincial Board yesterday passed a resolution requesting the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to conduct earthquake drills.

Apparently, some Capitol employees didn’t know how to respond to an earthquake safely and effectively.