THE Cebu City Government is willing to give P3 million as financial assistance to survivors of the 6.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Surigao del Norte last Feb. 10.
In an interview, Councilor Jerry Guardo said he will recommend giving that amount to them.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña, for his part, said he has no problem with the proposal, saying the survivors need the cash assistance.
Osmeña said he is even willing for the City to give up to P10 million.
“Were talking about the repairs here. We have over a P100 million (in) disaster funds,” he said.
But Guardo, who also visited Surigao City last week, said the City’s financial assistance should not go beyond P3 million since it has to to help its own people too, particularly those in landslide-affected barangays, such as Sirao, Adlaon and Busay.
“We have yet to determine how much financial assistance we will give to these barangays,” he said.
Guardo said Surigao survivors can use the amount the City will give to buy housing materials.
Guardo is expected to submit his report during the council’s regular session today. The report will brief the councilors of the areas heavily affected by the quake.
Guardo said that City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office Chief Nagiel Bañacia will prioritize the town of San Francisco in Surigao del Norte.
Bañacia said the town needs more help since it has been isolated from Surigao City after the bridge that connects the two areas was damaged.
San Francisco can barely sustain its rehabilitation efforts since it only has an approved budget of P59 million for this year.