Camarines Sur officials 2ndDistrict Representative Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte and his son, Governor Miguel Luis “Migz” Villafuerte on Monday appealed to the Duterte government to provide immediate relief and assistance to at least 80,000 families in the province’s 35 municipalities and Iriga city, which is hard hit by super typhoon Rolly.
According to the Villafuertes, many of these residents have totally or partially lost their homes due to “Rolly” that hit Bicol a week after the onslaught of super typhoon Quinta.
“We need aid right away from the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), and the NHA (National Housing Authority (NHA) for CamSur folk who are now reeling from the triple whammy of super typhoons Rolly and Quinta and the lingering coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19),” the lawmaker Villafuerte said.
According to Rep. Villafuerte, CamSur was the hardest hit province as the super typhoon struck the province, with maximum winds of 225 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 310 kph.
The province’s palay growers have also been severely affected as they were about to harvest their crops in the weeks ahead before the super typhoon struck last weekend, he said.
In a letter to President Duterte, Gov. Villafuerte asked for assistance in the form of available funding from the DSWD and other available fund resources for their proposed cash aid of P3,000 to P5,000 for each of the 80,000 severely affected families.
“We likewise seek the assistance of the NHA through its Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) for many of our people whose homes have been totally or partially destroyed,” Gov. Villafuerte said in his letter.
“The province of CamSur has always been supportive of our national government efforts including that of preventing the spread of Covid-19 in the country. It is the only province in the entire Bicol Region with an isolation center and is continuing to provide free testing to targeted individuals,” he added.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) secretariat, showed that initial report showed that super typhoon Rolly affected some 251,000 families totalling 1,025,770 individuals in the province’s 1,036 barangays.
“Rolly” also affected 24,458 farmers and wiped out P752- million worth of palay, corn and high-value crops; 34.350 fisherfolk and damaged P13.3-million worth of municipal and inland fisheries stocks; and destroyed P1.9-billion worth of infrastructure like roads, bridges, dams, irrigation systems and school buildings, he said.
Typhoon “Rolly” also flooded 186 barangays in 29 municipalities; totally damaged 20,658 houses and partially damaged 55,515 homes; and left Iriga City and the 35 municipalities with no electricity; 7 municipalities with interrupted water supply, and 13 municipalities with no communication lines.
The biggest damage from super typhoon Quinta was also reported in CamSur, with an estimated 4,400 hectares (ha) of palay farms destroyed and valued at P225- million.