THE Cebu Provincial Government has launched a multi-pronged effort to combat severe road congestion and streamline the delivery of aid to northern Cebu municipalities reeling from the recent earthquake. The Capitol is urgently requesting that donors and volunteer groups use a designated regional donation hub and coordinate their activities using new digital mapping tools, emphasizing safety and transparency.
Danao hub established to decongest traffic
In an advisory issued Friday, Oct. 5, 2025, the Capitol reiterated its call for coordinated relief operations, explicitly urging donors to channel assistance through designated hubs instead of traveling individually to the affected areas.
Provincial Information Officer Ainjeliz dela Torre Orong said in an interview with SunStar Cebu on Sunday, Oct. 5, that traffic has become a “secondary disaster,” with some vehicles running out of fuel, accidents reported, and ambulances unable to pass through.
“We understand people want to help, but uncoordinated trips have worsened congestion,” Orong said, adding that some volunteers even brought children and elderly persons, raising safety concerns.
The Province advised those already en route to the north to turn back and deliver their donations to the Provincial Donation Hub at the Danao City Boardwalk, which opened at noon on Friday.
Set up by the Danao City Government in partnership with the Capitol, the hub aims to achieve three goals: decongest major roads, ensure orderly distribution and hasten the delivery of consolidated relief goods to the quake-hit towns.
“We discourage small donation drives traveling to the north from Cebu City as it will take approximately 10 hours to reach the affected areas,” the Capitol stated. “We urge donors and volunteer groups to coordinate with the Provincial Donation Hub in Danao City instead.”
The Danao hub, along with the Capitol warehouse, will serve as a convergence point for relief goods, which will then be consolidated and dispatched immediately to the affected northern towns.
Trucks from the hub will deliver the donations directly to Bogo City, where an Incident Command Center manned by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Office of Civil Defense coordinates relief efforts.
Gov. Pamela Baricuatro also ordered the deployment of military, police and traffic enforcers to assist local government units and ensure relief reaches barangays quickly.
The Capitol has coordinated with the Cebu Port Authority for port-to-port deliveries. It has also coordinated the use of air transport for urgent shipments.
Orong assured the public that there are enough large trucks and vehicles available for logistics and asked for continued cooperation to speed up relief distribution.
Dr. Nikki Catalan, Capitol health consultant, said that if the public does not trust the government’s relief operations, they can donate their in-kind donations to reputable organizations instead.
“This has always been the point. GIVE HELP, by ALL means give help. Our fellow Cebuanos need it,” she posted on her Facebook account on Sunday. “But please coordinate, collaborate. If you don’t trust the government, drop off and coordinate with reputable charity or private groups who have logistical support.”
Sea route proposed as safer alternative
To further alleviate the severe road congestion, Medellin Mayor Edwin Salimbangon has proposed an alternative sea route to speed up deliveries.
In a video statement on Sunday, Salimbangon suggested that all relief trucks bound for Medellin and other northern towns be transported via landing craft tanks or roll-on/roll-off vessels. He proposed shipping the vessels directly from either Danao port or Cebu port to Kawit port in Medellin.
The mayor explained that utilizing sea routes will ensure faster and safer delivery of much-needed aid. This measure is crucial because the ports of Bogo and Hagnaya remain closed for docking due to damage sustained from the recent earthquakes. Continuous aftershocks have also triggered landslides in some areas, making land travel unsafe and delaying relief operations.
Capitol launches emergency response tracker
To ensure transparency and prevent the duplication of aid, the Provincial Government has launched the Emergency Response Tracker, a digital platform designed to map and monitor aid distribution across northern Cebu.
The platform allows both government responders and private donors to log and “pin” their relief activities. This system helps to identify barangays that have already received assistance and those still critically in need.
“With the continuous aftershocks and heavy traffic in the north, we urge everyone to coordinate their relief activities for everyone’s safety and to avoid congestion that could disrupt ongoing rescue and rehabilitation work,” the Capitol said in a statement.
Officials advised those delivering goods directly to check the online tracker before deployment or coordinate with major relief hubs instead of traveling individually.
Students develop complementary digital tools
In a related technology initiative, the Capitol is partnering with University of Cebu students to develop a mobile application that will log and pin relief requests.
“Soon, this will be linked with the Cebu Province relief tracker so everyone can see what’s needed, where help is going, and in the long run, track rehabilitation together,” said Dr. Catalan. The app is being developed by UC Information Technology students Clint Alonzo, Ralph Adriane Dilao and Vince Clave.
Further bolstering digital coordination, Charles Zoilo Yana, a 21-year-old fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering student from Cebu Technological University Danao Campus, developed his own crowdsourced mapping website.
Yana launched the Northern Cebu Earthquake Relief Map Guide on Thursday, Oct. 2, two days after the 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck. The platform allows users to pin exact locations and share key details, helping volunteers and relief groups coordinate assistance more effectively.
Yana stated the project is entirely self-funded and was built purely out of his initiative to assist affected families. The tool works similarly to Google Maps, relying on crowdsourcing from people with relatives or information about those in need, as many residents in the North are currently offline.
“We have two options to pin locations: one is to search the place... or just simply enter and it will try to locate the location,” Yana explained. “Second is manually, by clicking that green icon on the lower right corner, users can just zoom and navigate or find the nearest barangay.”
As of this writing, the crowdsourced map has recorded more than 500 pinned locations, highlighting its growing role in coordination efforts.
The Capitol said future phases of its official Emergency Response Tracker will expand to include rehabilitation projects, aiming for a “more transparent, organized, and resilient” system of disaster management.