MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the distribution Tuesday of various government assistance to families affected by Tropical Storm ‘Paeng’ in Antique, vowing to rehabilitate the province’s damaged infrastructure for immediate normalization.
“Asahan po ninyo na lagi po kaming nandiyan kahit ‘di niyo po kami nakikita. Pagka mayroong ganitong bagyo at may mga naging biktima ay alam po namin ang mga pangyayari at ginagawa po namin lahat,” Marcos said during the distribution of assistance in San Jose de Buenavista, Antique.
The President conducted an aerial inspection of 'Paeng's' damage to Antique, particularly roads and bridges, promising to quickly repair those structures so people’s lives could quickly normalize.
“Tiningnan namin kung ano ‘yung mga nasira, iyong mga tulay, at gagawin namin kaagad lahat para maibalik. Magamit man lang — para naman matuloy ang pag-deliver, matuloy ang hanapbuhay, at makabalik na naman tayo sa normal bago tayo nagkabagyo ng ganito,” Marcos said.
Over a thousand recipients from different municipalities within the province received financial aid worth P5,000 each from the government.
Also included in the relief aid are food packages and hygiene kits for typhoon victims.
Likewise, around 100 beneficiaries received livelihood grants under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Sustainable Assistance Program.
The Department of Agriculture (DA), on the other hand, distributed a P177.4-million certificate of rice farmer financial assistance to 35,493 farmers in Antique.
The DA also provided farmers palay seeds under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund amounting to P13 million, which could benefit 6,843 farmers.
Vegetable seeds, drugs biologics, and disinfectants were also turned over to DA provincial office.
Approximately 43,000 families from 500 barangays were affected in Antique as Tropical Storm ‘Paeng’ brought torrential rains that caused severe flooding over the province.
Marcos held a situation briefing with selected regional line agency directors and local chief executives of Antique to assess the extent of damages caused by Tropical Storm ‘Paeng’ and address various pressing concerns in the Western Visayas Region.
Under the President’s Proclamation No. 84, Region VI (Western Visayas), along with Region IV-A (CALABARZON), Region V (Bicol Region) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) were placed under a State of Calamity in order to “hasten the rescue, recovery, relief and rehabilitation efforts of the government and private sector”, as well as “effectively control the prices of basic necessities and prime commodities” to give the government ample flexibility to execute relief operations and rehabilitation measures.
According to the latest Situational Report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), 32 deaths have been recorded in Region VI, with nine individuals missing. (OPS)
