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Tuesday, December 07, 2004
P50-P70M sought for typhoon-hit areas
MANILA -- Social welfare officials are seeking P50 to P70 million to fund relief operations for victims of floods and landslides in the provinces of Quezon and Aurora.
Social Welfare Sec. Corazon Soliman asked the Senate committee on finance to look for sources of funds, as she added that some 700 persons reported missing at the height of four storms that hit Luzon the past three weeks were presumed dead already.
In Real town, residents, after days of wading through mud and floodwaters, scrambled Monday to escape their villages ravaged by the storms that killed at least 568 persons.
Food, clean water, and medicines were in short supply in affected areas as most shops and health centers were destroyed.
People sifted through mud to salvage clothes and belongings.
The dead were buried quickly to avoid disease.
In General Nakar town, 70 kilometers (40 miles) east of Manila, the mayor asked for anti-venom drugs after a number of people were bitten by deadly cobras.
During budget hearings with the Senate committee on finance Monday, Soliman said the agency is already cash-strapped as P87 million allocated as quick response funds have already been depleted.
"When I said gone, naubos na (it is gone). Yun pong nasalanta naman ay tuloy-tuloy ang kailangang paghahatid ng pagkain (But we continue to serve food to those affected)," Soliman said.
Sen. Manuel Villar, chairman of the Senate finance committee, advised Soliman to talk to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) about diverting funds for relief operations.
President Arroyo earlier appealed for urgent international aid after flash floods and mudslides last week swept away hundreds of houses, farms, roads and bridges in the country's northeast.
Most of the destruction was wrought by a tropical storm that blew through northeastern provinces Nov. 29, killing at over 500 people and leaving some 607 missing.
A typhoon struck the same region late Thursday, leaving 38 dead and 33 missing, according to revised figures by the Office of Civil Defense.
With bulldozers still clearing piles of mud, uprooted trees, timber and debris from the roads, the only way out of three worst-hit towns in Quezon province, east of Manila, was on rescue helicopters or ferries and boats.
The poorly equipped air force could supply only about 18 aircraft, including two helicopters on lease from President Arroyo's official detachment, and the navy and the coast guard were struggling to provide vessels and fuel.
Soliman said ships were unable to reach far-flung villages because of logs washed into the sea by the storms.
Instead, rubber boats ferried relief goods from ship to shore.
"People there are isolated. We don't know the number of dead there," she said, adding there were still villages where relief goods were airdropped but rescuers didn't reach.
In Real, scores of people scrambled at a pier for a place on a ferry going to Manila.
The ferry has a capacity of about 100 passengers, but it was soon overwhelmed by perhaps three times as many. The captain tried in vain to turn back the throng.
Jenny Martirez, who traveled with her husband and one-year-old child, said their house in nearby Infanta town was buried under almost a meter (two to three feet) of mud.
"There is nothing there. No food, no water. All you can see is mud everywhere," she said, adding her only hope was to reach Manila.
Sporadic rain and low clouds grounded a Philippine air force rescue fleet for a few hours early Monday, spokesman Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla said.
"Right now, helicopters are prioritizing those who are seriously sick," Soliman said.
She appealed to people to be patient as aid trickles in, and tried to allay fears that some relief supplies were being stolen.
"For people who have not eaten for three days, any effort would not be enough," she said.
Washington offered to dispatch troops for humanitarian help and donated money and body bags.
On Sunday, two HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters from a nearby US Navy ship delivered food aid and a team of experts to assess damage.
Deforestation has stripped hillsides of vegetation that could have held mud and other debris in place during last week's storms, and many believe years of illegal logging set off the landslides.
President Arroyo on Saturday suspended all logging and said illegal loggers would be prosecuted like terrorists, kidnappers, drug traffickers and other hardened criminals.
It wasn't clear how long the moratorium would last or whether it would be enforced nationwide.
The country is hit by about 20 storms and typhoons a year.
A typhoon and another storm the previous week killed at least 91 people and left 84 others missing in the east. (JPM/AP)
(December 7, 2004 issue)
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