InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
CEBU CITY - The Cebu Provincial Capitol and the Cebu City government will provide aid to areas affected by heavy flooding in Luzon. Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said the City Government will give P5-million financial assistance through the Philippine Red Cross, which will distribute the amount to the victims. Rama said the amount will be taken from the calamity fund of Cebu City. Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has directed the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) to prepare assistance in kind for the flooding victims. Garcia has instructed Marivic Garces, head of the PSWDO, to contact officials of the affected areas, cities and provinces. Among the flooded areas is the Province of Laguna. Garcia said Laguna and Cebu signed a sisterhood agreement last July 30. Garcia said they would also consider extending financial assistance. As of now, they want to give items that the flood victims need immediately, like rice. Rep. Luigi Quisumbing (Cebu, 6th district), who personally distributed relief goods in Metro Manila, called on fellow Cebuanos to extend help to “our brothers and sisters hit by floods.” ”I fell that, as a nation, we must all pull together to help out,” he said, as he urged Cebuanos to donate food, warm clothes and clean water for the evacuation centers. Quisumbing is in Metro Manila for the session slated last August 6. But that night up to Tuesday, heavy rains battered the metropolis. On Tuesday, Rep. Quisumbing waded through the floods, as the session in the House of Representatives was suspended, to bring in relief goods to Marikina, through Rep. Miro Quimbo (Marikina, 2nd district). With what happened in Metro Manila, he said, climate change is something the Cebuanos have to contend with and always be prepared for. Quisumbing also extended assistance and donated relief goods last August 7 to flood victims in San Juan and Mandaluyong. He urged both government agencies and the LGUs to strengthen its capacities in responding to emergency situations and disasters. He also asked the public to always be prepared for any contingency. ”We have seen how devastating these torrential rains and floods can become in such a short period of time,” he said. He also urged Cebuanos to monitor events carefully and have emergency kits stocked with essential items such as food, water, medicines, flashlights, and warm clothes. It is also very important to comply with evacuation instructions immediately so as not to complicate rescue efforts, he said.
