International aid sought
‘Ondoy’ death toll
climbs to 140
BY VICTOR REYES
DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro yesterday appealed to the international community for humanitarian assistance as the country reeled from the effects of storm "Ondoy" which has so far left 140 people dead.
In a press conference at the National Disaster Coordinating Council in Camp Aguinaldo, Teodoro, concurrent NDCC chair, said he was making the appeal on the authority of President Arroyo.
"We are requesting the office of the United Nations resident coordinator to coordinate in behalf of the government of the Philippines an international appeal and I have just authorized sending out of a flash appeal for assistance," he also said.
He said the assistance would be for the National Capital Region and Region IV-A (Calabarzon) which were the worst hit by Ondoy.
Metro Manila has been placed under a state of calamity together with 25 Luzon provinces -- Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon, Isabela, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Marinduque, Camarines Norte and Bataan.
Asked how serious the problem is to warrant an appeal for international assistance, Teodoro said: "We declared already a state of calamity, that already shows that the situation is serious."
Teodoro, in a briefing before the Cabinet, said the international community has sent assistance to the Philippines, including $50,000 from the US government which also provided one helicopter and rubber boats for the rescue missions.
He said the United Nations Childrens Fund (Unicef) has also donated food and non-food items worth to P15.3 million.
He said the NDCC has centralized the donation points, identifying them as the National Relief Operations Center between the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) 1 and 2 near the Air Transport Office in Pasay City; the Central Office of DSWD right across the Batasan road; and the National Capital Region (NCRF) Crisis Intervention Unit in Legarda, Manila.
He said no more donations will be accepted in Camp Aguinaldo, which has already run out storage space.
MASSIVE RELIEF
OPERATIONS
Earlier yesterday, Teodoro said authorities shifted their focus to the conduct of massive relief operations for nearly half a million people affected by Ondoy.
Teodoro said the number of affected persons is now 453,033, of which 115,990 were displaced.
Teodoro said the shift to relief operations does not mean authorities are abandoning rescue operations, he said.
"The general concentration of the NDCC (National Disaster Coordinating Council) is to bring food to the relief centers…Relief, relief, relief, that is the challenge. Its going to massive," said Teodoro, concurrent NDCC chairman.
A huge number of residents trapped on rooftops since Saturday when Ondoy hit continued to plead with radio stations for help.
Teodoro said some residents in areas that are flooded as of yesterday would not leave their homes so relief and rescue teams would have to bring them food.
"But the general concentration of the NDCC is to bring food to the relief center. Distribution is a local government duty but we’ll try to help out as best as we can," he added.
P20M ALLOCATION
Teodoro said the Department of Social Welfare and Development, one of the attached agencies of the NDCC, has set aside P20 million for relief.
"There is going to be probably more needed," added Teodoro, adding that a team had been sent yesterday to assess the effects of Ondoy.
In Metro Manila, Teodoro said the NDCC is providing direct assistance on top of that being provided by local government units.
In the provinces, he said the NDCC is "helping out as much as we can."
NDCC spokesman Anthony Golez said the DSWD has prepared 30,000 family packs as part of the massive relief operations.
He said the NDCC has released "thousands of sacks of rice already to the different areas, particularly those outside Metro Manila."
Victims have aired through suggestions to bring them cooked food, particularly in areas where there is no electricity or water.
Teodoro conducted an aerial survey of Pampanga where a number of landslides occurred. He said about 200 families had to be relocated from Mt. Arayat because it is prone to landslide.
FATALITIES
Most of the fatalities were from Region IV-A (Calabarzon) which has 96 deaths.
Metro Manila has seven deaths, one in Cordillera Administrative Region, and 36 in Region III (Central Luzon).
Teodoro said 32 are missing.
HIGHER TOLL
Teodoro said the NDCC casualty count is expected to go higher, noting Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno has confirmed 17 deaths in Antipolo alone. The NDCC casualty count did not list any fatality in Antipolo.
Antipolo City Mayor Danilo Leyble said the death toll in the city is 22, with several more missing from flashfloods and landslides.
The PNP has shifted from rescue to "relief mode," said Chief Supt. Nicanor Bartolome, police community relations group director.
Bartolome said PNP chief Jesus Verzosa conducted an aerial inspection and found there is now a need to distribute relief goods.
Bartolome said that goods available at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame have been transported by three police choppers to Pasig City.
The Army has mobilized its civilian force for the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Metro Manila and Rizal.
The Army’s civilian employees, along with the Army rescue teams, were tasked to distribute relief goods.
The Army has established an operation and action center at the Army gym in coordination with the NDCC.
ARAYAT LANDSLIDE
President Arroyo ordered the PNP and the environment department to investigate the landslide in Mount Arayat in her home province of Pampanga, that killed 13 persons and rendered scores homeless here.
Tons of mud, rocks and debris cascaded from Mount Arayat as a result of the continuous rains brought by Ondoy, burying the victims’ homes at the foot of the Mt. Arayat National Park.
MORE APPEALS FOR HELP
The Philippine National Red Cross renewed calls for donations.
PNRC secretary general Gwendolyn Pang said among non-food items needed immediately by evacuees are mats, blankets, mosquito nets and jerry cans, tents, toothbrush and toothpaste, bath soap, sanitary napkins, shampoo, towel and alcohol.
Pang said in-kind donations may be sent to the PNRC National Headquarters in Port Area, Manila.
Caritas Manila, the social action center of the Archdiocese of Manila is also appealing for donations.
Caritas Manila’s Crisis and Disaster Program uses the Church’s network of parishes, priests, social action centers, and church volunteers to bring aid and assistance to affected areas and families.
For Metro Manila residents, requests for pickup of donations can be made through telephone numbers 5639308 and 5639298.
DONATIONS FROM PORK
The Senate adopted a resolution filed by Sen. Miriam Santiago enjoining all senators to donate at least P1 million of their pork barrel to Ondoy victims.
She cited a December 2004 precedent wherein 19 senators allocated P7,050,000 from their PDAF to finance relief operations and reconstruction programs in Aurora and Quezon provinces devastated by a series of storms.
She also appealed to the House of Representatives for the immediate passage of the Disaster Risk Reduction Bill directed at modernizing the equipment of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). It was approved in the Senate on September 2.
DISASTER FUND
Santiago also filed a bill seeking to appropriate P10 billion to fund disaster management efforts in the wake of the storm that brought record breaking rainfall.
Dubbed the Ondoy Fund, P8 billion of the appropriation will come from the proceeds from the road users tax while the remaining P2 billion will be sourced from local government units.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile announced the Senate will donate P1.5 million to Ondoy victims through the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc., GMA Kapuso Foundation, and the Philippine National Red Cross. – With Regina Bengco, Christian Oineza, Raymond Africa, Gerard Naval and JP Lopez
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