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Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Help for Leyte: P2M, team from province, city
CEBU -- Like what they did after the Ormoc flashflood in 1991 that killed hundreds of people, Cebuanos are again coming to the rescue of their neighbors victimized by landslides.
The promise of help came from the Capitol, Cebu City Hall and the Archdiocese of Cebu and the region's health department.
The Cebu Provincial Government will donate P2 million to the Southern Leyte Provincial Government as aid to help rehabilitate areas ravaged by landslides over the weekend.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeņa, meanwhile, formed a team that will go to Southern Leyte to assess how the City Government can help in the rescue operations.
The Cebu City Council also authorized the mayor to give whatever financial assistance allowed by law.
Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal asked the Cebuano faithful to extend help and to pray for the victims of the landslides in Southern Leyte and Northern Mindanao.
Parishioners are asked to give donations to their parish priests or bring them to the archdiocese's commission on service office at the Cebu Caritas building on P. Gomez St., Cebu City.
Gov. Pablo Garcia said Capitol's aid will be taken from the province's calamity fund and will be sent to the beneficiaries right away.
This is the biggest aid Capitol has ever given to a local government unit, Garcia said in a talk with reporters Monday noon.
In a consultation with Provincial Budget Officer Eduardo Habin, it was decided that the disbursement of the amount, which is ready, will need no resolution from the Cebu Provincial Board (PB).
The governor said this will be all the aid the province will send for now. Although Capitol has over a hundred units of heavy equipment, he said it seems there are now enough operating in two Southern Leyte towns.
Besides, he noted that it would be difficult to send the heavy equipment there.
"Motabang ta kay silingan man (We will help our neighbor)," he said.
In previous years, he said, Cebu also aided Camiguin with P200,000 when a water spout struck the province in northern Mindanao, Legazpi City. Cebu doled out P1 million when there was movement of Mt. Mayon, and Baguio City after the 1991 earthquake.
Cebu City Hall will also send financial assistance, depending on the gravity of the situation.
It also made available a container van near Fuente Police Station where the public can drop their assistance for the victims.
This will be manned by the City Engineer's Office, which will start accepting donations Tuesday morning.
A reconnaissance team left for Leyte Monday afternoon to assess the situation in the affected barangays and come up with recommendations on how the City Government can help, the mayor said.
Osmeņa said the City Government cannot send personnel and equipment for relief operations because the scene is not easily accessible.
He added that if the City sends a relief team, food and lodging will also a problem, "and they might end up being a burden rather than an asset."
While it is the duty of the National Government to provide financial assistance to areas affected by a calamity, the City Government may also give from its own funds, Osmeņa said.
He cited the cases of the Ormoc City flooding in 1991 and the Mt. Pinatubo eruption where instead of cash, the City Government sent relief personnel.
The mayor also encouraged Cebuanos to donate clothing and non-perishable items to the affected families through the drop-in center.
Msgr. Roberto Alesna, who heads the Archdiocese's commission on service, said Vidal already asked him to coordinate with Bishop Antonieto Cabahug (Diocese of Surigao) and Bishop Precioso Cantillas (Diocese of Maasin).
Aside from used clothing, canned goods and blankets will be sent to the victims staying in temporary shelters.
Alesna said they will send the donations as soon as they can gather enough for shipment.
"Like what happened after the Ormoc flood, we Cebuanos must show our generosity, not just by prayers alone but also by actions," Vidal said in his homily during the seventh of the nine-day dawn masses held at the Nativitiy of our Lady Parish in Canduman, Mandaue City.
The Department of Health (DOH) 7 also sent Monday three boxes of medicines to the DOH 8 office, Regional Epidemiologist Junjie Zuasula said.
Smart Communication Inc. (Smart) also set up a "Tawag" center to give free outbound calls for government personnel and residents in the disaster-stricken southern towns of Leyte.
Lawyer Jane Paredes, Smart public affairs manager for the Visayas and Mindanao, said the call center in San Francisco town will serve government agencies, church groups, the Philippine National Red Cross and other groups involved in rescue and retrieval operations.
Smart has a cellsite in Liloan, the second town in Southern Leyte hit by a landslide last Friday.
Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos, who was in Cebu City Monday, told reporters that she had asked her staff to set up a tent in the affected areas and serve hot meals to soldiers who are helping in the search and rescue operations. (KMF/CYR/LCR)
(December 23, 2003 issue)
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