Governor Lilia G. Pineda strongly urged concerned local chief executives and heads of government agencies to make accurate assessment of the damages wrought by typhoons Pedring and Quiel even as she enjoined them to prioritize the implementation of projects for the immediate rehabilitation and recovery of severely-affected areas in Pampanga.
This developed as the governor, together with officials of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) led by Regional Director Remigio Mercado and provincial board members, spearheaded a special meeting with local chief executives of municipalities which were severely affected by the two typhoons.
Director Benito Arca of the Department of Health (DOH) along with the officials of the Department of Education (DepEd), Mt. Pinatubo Emergency Project Management Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (MPEPMO-DPWH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) attended the meeting held at the Executive House of the provincial capitol.
Pineda instructed the mayors of affected municipalities to submit at the soonest possible time their respective assessment of damages on agriculture and fishery production, housing, environment, employment and income including the cost estimates of needed interventions on disaster preparedness and mitigation, infrastructure, resettlement, livelihood and employment and institutional arrangements.
Mercado said that these documents will serve as basis in the request for financial assistance from the national government agencies including foreign-funding institutions like the World Bank and Official Development Assistance (ODA).
According to Mercado, President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said that the World Bank is willing to provide loans with very low interest to finance disaster response projects which could not be funded by the local or national government.
He added that these projects shall be submitted to Malacanang for evaluation, thus it is necessary that documents and plans are comprehensive and based on rational thinking and consultations.
He agreed with the governor that an accurate assessment of damages including estimates of rehabilitation and recovery needs in affected municipalities are very important.
Pineda said that the provincial government alone could not shoulder the rehabilitation of billion pesos worth of damaged roads, bridges, dikes, school buildings, agriculture and fishery in the province.
The provincial government has already spent P80 million for the construction of new school buildings and bought 10,000 school desks, the governor said.
DepEd Division Superintendent Nicolas Capulong said that the office has come out with various strategies to meet the required 180 school days in flooded areas such as two-hour extension of school hours, utilization of take-home learning modules, no semestral break and in some cases conduct of Saturday classes. School districts which were not affected by floods have agreed to adopt flood-affected areas and provide them with relief assistance.
Meanwhile, TESDA reported that P15 million funds were allocated for its scholarship programs in the province with priority focus on the flooded towns of San Luis, San Simon, Candaba, Masantol, Macabebe and Apalit among others.
The governor specified that priority assistance should be focused on these municipalities which were heavily damaged by the typhoons as she urged the DOH to work out on the provision of emergency funds for the province’s district hospitals in case of disease outbreaks instead of merely distributing medicines.
She further emphasized the urgency of preventing the occurrence of damages to lives and properties and to this, enjoined the collaborative support and commitment of government agencies and local government units in the province.
NEDA Specialist Vic Ubalde emphasized that rehabilitation work is not only a matter of bringing back situations to normalcy, but more so, of bringing back the economic potentials of the affected areas in order to ensure and sustain recovery.
Ubalde shared with the mayors and concerned government agencies the synopsis of the rehabilitation plan as discussed in the Regional Development Council (RDC) meeting in Bulacan. The plan shall cover among others the legal framework, objectives, geographic scope of the area which includes demographic study and contribution to production, income, employment, agriculture and fishery, housing and environment, socio economic disruption and environment damages.
Needed interventions on disaster preparedness and mitigation, infrastructure, resettlement, livelihood and employment and institutional arrangements including funding source should also be specified in the said rehabilitation plan, Ubalde added. (Pampanga PIO)
