Saturday, June 28, 2008 Palace provides P1.5M for action center
MALACAÑANG assured the Cebu City Government of an additional P1.5-million funding to augment its resources for relief operations, as Secretary Cerge Remonde commended city officials for their coordinated efforts in responding to the disaster.
Remonde, chief of the Presidential Management Staff, promised the financial aid yesterday after seeing the action center of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC) at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) gym and the number of families benefiting from it.
Remonde visited the relatives of the victims at the CCSC and assured them of the national government’s support.
He told the crowd that President Arroyo was “very concerned” about the tragedy.
“Ni-a ko dinhi… aron pagtan-aw sa inyong kahimtang (I am here to check on your situation),” Remonde told the tired crowd.
The President’s first order was that no boat will be allowed to leave a port whenever there is a typhoon, no matter how much the vessel weighs.
Remonde also said that Arroyo was looking at a change in maritime laws. He said there will be a new law that requires “more stringent application” of the Safety of Life at Sea policies.
As he denied rumors that Arroyo was there to watch Manny Pacquiao’s fight, he said the President might come to Cebu when she arrives from her United States trip on Monday.
He also assured the crowd that all information regarding the retrieval of bodies from the vessel will be made available to them.
However, he refrained from mentioning the temporary halt of retrieval operations, telling reporters that he did not want to create “unnecessary panic.”
The retrieval operations were stopped yesterday after a discovery that the vessel was carrying pesticides that could be dangerous to the rescue divers.
Apart from visiting the victims, Remonde also met with CCDCC officials to ensure that the assistance for the victims will continue.
“I am here to make things possible. We have not identified what other assistance the National Government can give but whatever logistics are needed, wherever it is required, we will do it. I assure the families that we will keep the center operating for as long as it is necessary,” he told reporters after a briefing with the CCDCC officials.
City Councilor and CCDCC chairman Gerardo Carillo said they expect to get the P1-million assistance by Monday.
On top of the P1 million and the P400,000 aid the Department of Social Welfare and Development gave the City last Thursday, the department was instructed to release another P500,000.
The City has so far spent P1 million from its coffers for food, transportation and other operating expenses of the action center, where thousands of relatives of the victims are awaiting updates from the authorities.
Spending
It has also earmarked P2.5 million for the P5,000 financial aid to each victim of the sinking of the mv Princess of the Stars that Mayor Tomas Osmeña promised before he left for the United States.
Additional P10,000 will be given if the victim is the breadwinner of the family.
“We have not set a ceiling on how much we will spend to respond to this disaster but we are prepared to spend P5 million,” the councilor said, adding that the CCDCC spends at least P200,000 a day for food alone.
In ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Forum that was held yesterday at the sports complex, DSWD 7 Information Officer Jaybee Carillo said the number of people increased as more relatives arrived from outside Cebu.
The DSWD 7 has also been offering counseling services to the relatives since Thursday night.
Advice
Relatives lined up for one-on-one sessions with counselors before receiving their viewing passes and heading for the funeral home.
Jaybee said it was necessary to prepare relatives for the sight of the corpses. She added that they would also help the victims after the viewing, especially when many will return to the complex in disappointment.
Nongovernment groups also arrived at the sports complex last Monday to lend help.
Among them are members of the Philippine National Red Cross, International Scientology Volunteers and Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation.
The representatives of the Public Attorney’s Office also stayed at the complex, offering legal advice and special power of attorney to notarize documents.
More experts
In the press briefing at City Hall yesterday, National Bureau of Investigation Medico-Legal Chief Renato Bautista said he asked eight other forensic experts to come to Cebu to help the 14-member team identify the bodies that arrived yesterday.
Three of them arrived last night while five others are expected to arrive today.
Because the bodies have already reached the advanced state of decomposition, Bautista said some can no longer be identified.
Five teams will subject the bodies to a series of examinations and other procedures, including the taking of photographs, fingerprinting, pathology and forensic chemistry or DNA sampling and dental examination.
“So this will be a series of examinations... I don’t expect the bodies to be recognizable as they will be in an advanced state of decomposition and will be black because of the bunker oil, if they were retrieved from the vessel. But if they were washed ashore, it’s possible that they’ll still be recognizable,” Bautista said. (LCR/KAB)
