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The Davao city government will extend a total of P7.5 million in financial assistance to some areas in Luzon affected by typhoons Quinta and Rolly.
The XIX Municipal Council met on Friday, November 6 through a special session, granting the request of Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to use a part of 30 percent of the Rapid Response Fund (QRF) of five percent of the Fund of Management and Disaster Risk Reduction (Calamity Fund) of the City Council for the year 2020.
The City will provide financial assistance to the areas that were declared in a state of calamity.
For the areas affected by Typhoon Quinta, the provinces of Oriental Mindoro, Batangas, Albay and Marinduque will each receive P1 million, while the city of Batangas will receive P500,000.
For the areas affected by the recent Typhoon Rolly, the provinces of Cavite, Camarines Sur and Catanduanes will each receive P1 million.
Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, chairman of the City Council finance committee, said during the session that financial aid is part of the city’s mandate “in response to the needs of the people” by utilizing its surplus financial resources.
“We are used to this, even during the time of [former city mayor and] President Rodrigo Duterte because we have some extra funds, we give support to other provinces that need it, ”said Dayanghirang.
The approval of the financial grant came days after the mayor of the city of Davao, Sara Duterte-Carpio, visited the provinces of Catanduanes and Albay on Wednesday, November 4.
In a photo published by Alfredo Garbin, representative of the Ako-Bicol party list, Duterte-Carpio made a courtesy call to different local officials.
Senator Imee Marcos also shared a selfie with the presidential daughter inside a helicopter, where she said they visited the areas to “help residents” and distribute relief items.
Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Thursday, November 5, that the eight areas will receive financial aid from the city as they are currently in a state of calamity.
Before transmitting the request to the City Council, he made the request to the City’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO), where the latter also issued a resolution supporting the mayor’s request to assign assistance to affected areas. by typhoons in Luzon.
The mayor said the city plans to donate money to Quezon province, another area hit by the typhoon, but said the area’s Provincial Board has not yet convened and formally declared its area in a state of calamity.
Meanwhile, when asked by the media why she was personally there in Luzon, the mayor replied: “Naa ko didto (I was personally there) for the Office of the President.”
Duterte-Carpio, in his previous interview, said that the city will not hesitate to help neighboring areas affected by any calamity attacks or other disasters despite its fight to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The mayor said the city still has a lot of money in its Disaster Funds, but it also reserves a certain portion for itself in times of disaster.
The mayor said the city is using the $ 476 million Bayanihan Grant for Cities and Towns (BGCM) under the Bayanihan to Heal to Heal as One Act from the national government, the city’s mayor’s office and the program of improvement of the public service of the local government in its Covid-19 response.
As of Thursday, November 5, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that more than P11 billion in infrastructure and agricultural products / facilities were destroyed by Typhoon Rolly.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Typhoon Rolly has risen to 28, including 23 in Bicol, four in Calabarzon and one in Mimaropa, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Typhoon Quinta claimed 22 lives when it struck the country in October.
NDRRMC said Typhoon Quinta’s attack has damaged 107 highway sections and 20 bridges in the affected areas. Some 49,081 houses were damaged and 3,608 destroyed.
A total of 530 infrastructure facilities were also damaged at an estimated cost of P290 million. (With reports from SunStar Philippines)
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