Cordillera under state of calamity
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has declared the entire Cordillera under a state of calamity in a bid to help make the region resilient.
Proclamation No. 593 signed September 25 aims to hasten relief and rehabilitation efforts in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon, the areas badly hit by Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut).
Cordillera was among the hardest hit, with agricultural losses reaching P4.108 billion.
The Department of Agriculture reported that 168,221 farmers in the provinces of Ifugao, Kalinga and Mt. Province were affected. Damaged crops included rice, corn, high value crops, livestock and poultry.
Several infrastructure facilities were also damaged.
The declaration will allow the implementation of price control measures to mitigate the economic impact as well as help local government units administer recovery and rehabilitation and seamless delivery of basic needs and services.
All line agencies and local government units are tasked to implement and execute rescue, relief, rehabilitation and recovery measures as they see needed in their areas of jurisdiction.
Law enforcement agencies with the support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines are now directed to undertake all necessary measures to ensure peace and order in all affected areas.
Previously, a state of calamity was declared in the provinces of Kalinga, Mt. Province, Apayao and municipalities of Mayoyao and Aguinaldo in Ifugao to fast track repair and rehabilitation.
Before Typhoon Ompong hit the region, Benguet and Abra have already been declared under a state of calamity because of the destructive effects of the southwest monsoon or habagat.
The declaration now hastens efforts to strengthen pre-disaster preparation and work to make cities and municipalities stronger to minimize the impact of calamities.
Meanwhile, Regional Development and Peace and Order Council chairman and Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan welcomed the declaration to allow the region to access calamity funds for rehabilitation.
“The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council will validate if we are compliant with the criteria needed before declaring our place under a state of calamity. It is unfortunate that we incurred lots of damages here in Baguio City and the region. In the city, we listed 15 casualties, 13 bodies retrieved with two still being retrieved at the Mary Hurst, Lucnab Barangay incident,” Domogan said.
According to the latest NDRRMC report, a total of 264,304 families or 1.096 million persons from 3,780 barangays particularly in the said four regions were affected by Ompong.
The typhoon also left at least 90 people dead, including 72 due to landslides in Itogon, Benguet.