CITY OF MALOLOS—President Marcos orders the Department of Agriculture (DA) to provide seeds and focus on irrigation canals to help farmers recover as agriculture sector in Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan are the hardest hit sector from typhoon Butchoy, Carina and Habagat.
The President holds a post typhoon assessment briefing in Bulacan on Saturday. “We now focus on recovery. We will support our farmers to still able to plant in this planting season. The agriculture sector of all these three provinces—Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan were the hardest hit,” the President said.
New cropping or the wet season planting has just started this month.
According to the President, the relief operations in the three provinces are already put in placed and are now being distributed and that the focus now should be the recovery and rehabilitation.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said that as of today, they have allotted 300,000 food relief packs for Bulacan. He said more requests are coming in.
The President also assure typhoon victims in the three provinces of financial support. Gatchalian said the agency will determine whether Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) or Assitance or Assistance to Individuals in Crisis (AICS).
Mr. Marcos expressed concern that provinces in Central Luzon particularly Bulacan has just recoevered from the damages brought by typhoon Egay and Falcon and the southwest monsoon in July and August last year, yet another calamity brought by typhoons Butchoy and Carina and another southwest monsoon bothered the province.
Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando has just recently ended the distribution of P5,175 worth of ECT to each of the 100,000 victims of the said calamity last year. The DSWD spent a total of P500 million worth for the said financial assistance.
The infrastructure which will not come overnight, the President said, will come next.
According to the country’s chief executive, the flood waters has no way to go. “The water could not get out based from what I have obeserved when I checked the spread of the flood. This is what we should study and addtess,” he said. “Iyong tubig walang puntahan. Iyan ang nakita ko sa pag-iikot ko. Ito ang dapat pag-aralan natin. Dapat nating malaman kung paano maso-solve. Initially, ang nakikita natin ay sa itaas pa lang makuha na natin ang tubig para hindi na bumaba at maka-cause ng baha”.
He sees impounding facilities in the mountainous areas that will address flooding. These, he said, will catch water and prevent from cascading down to low-lying areas. “Sa itaas pa lang makuha na natin para hindi na bumaba at magpabaha”.
Fernando aked the help of the President for a new impounding dam. He said the now being constructed Bayabas dam in Dona Remedios Trinidad (DRT) will not be sufficient to impound rain waters in other parts of the mountainous areas in the province.
More than a meter high tide level and 1,000 cubic meter per second (cms) volume of water released by Ipo and Bustos dams also contributed to the severe flooding in Bulacan.
Heavy downpour experienced on Wednessay severed the flooding in all the low-lying areas of Bulacan.
Fernando and Vice Gov. Alexis Castro on Thursday declared Bulacan under state of calamity.
Fernando said 1,557,074 individuals from the towns of San Miguel, Paombong, Bulakan, Hagonoy, Calumpit, Santa Maria, City of Malolos, Bocaue, Angat, San Ildefonso and City of Meycauayan, Pandi, San Rafael, Calumpit, Guiguinto, Obando, Balagtas are affected of up to 8ft. flood waters.
According to the reports from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO), there are 13,021 residents from the said towns and cities who who were evacuated to safer grounds.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will provide P62-million worth Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) to the flood victims in the three provinces.
Damages to agriculture in Bulacan reaches P115 million, while in infrastructure, Bulacan incurs P789,000,000 worth of damages, according to PDRRMO.
Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda reported to the President that the floodiing in Tulaok area in San Simon portion of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) that stalled motorists for hours during the typhoon Egay and Falcon and the Habagat last year has already been addressed by the Department of Public Works and Highways. “There is no more flooding, Mr. President”.
However, flooding in City of Meycauayan and Marilao in Bulacan which reached up to 8ft. high( almost as high as the house ceiling) have stranded NLEX motorists on July 24 for about 18 hours. MacArthur highway in the said areas were also rendered not passable to all types of vehicles.
