THE City Government of Davao will allocate a total of P20.5 million worth of financial and food assistance to local government units (LGUs) that were declared in a state of calamity due to the damages caused by Typhoon Ompong.
The allocated amount was approved under suspended rules during the City Council's session on Tuesday, September 18.
The provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Abra, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and Kalinga and Tuguegarao City will each recieve P1 million, while the municipality of Mayoyao will be allotted P500,000. Some P12 million will be for food assistance.
According to the resolution, the allocated fund was based on how many households or families were affected in each area and it will be coming from the Quick Response Fund (QRF) of the city.
"It will be released to the concern LGU. In the past we used to send the treasurer to represent the city and to meet his or her counterpart to receive the said financial assistance. All of this is in coordination of disaster council and city or provincial disaster council as the case may be," City Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, who is also the chairman of the Committee on Finance, Ways and Means and Appropriations, said in a text message to SunStar Davao on Tuesday, September 18.
City administrator lawyer Zulieka Lopez on Monday said the city will not only extend financial assistance but also workforce for relief operations.
“The help, the assistance will really be coming from the people of Davao City to our friends and colleagues from the Northern areas who are greatly affected by the typhoon,” she said.
Lawyer Raul Nadela, Jr., the mayor's chief of staff, said Davao will be distributing 10,000 packs of relief goods to people in areas affected by the typhoon.
“The repacking of relief goods has started and we are hoping to start the distribution by Tuesday. Each pack will have rice and canned goods in them,” he said.
“Davao City and the Dabawenyos are always willing and ready to help other provinces in times of calamities,” Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said.