Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has appealed to national government agencies to assist local government units (LGUs) affected by super typhoon ‘’Rolly’’ as most of their calamity funds are already depleted by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Go said that providing additional financial assistance to the typhoon-hit LGUs would be a big help for them in purchasing food products and other essential items for affected constituents.
“I’m appealing to the executive, kay Pangulong Duterte, kay Sec. Avisado na tulungan po ‘yung mga LGUs na wala na pong calamity fund para po magamit nila dito sa typhoon, pambili ng pagkain, pambili po ng gamot, dahil sunod-sunod po itong disaster na ating kinakaharap,” Go said. (I am appealing to President Duterte, DBM Secretary Avisado to help the LGUs who no longer have calamity funds that they could use to buy food and medicines.)
Before super typhoon “Rolly” made a landfall, Go said that he has already informed Avisado that LGUs would face a big problem given that most of their respective calamity funds have already been utilized in their respective COVID-19 responses.
“Ngayon, nabigla sila dahil sa bagyo, so baka kulang o wala na silang gagamitin para magbigay ng tulong sa mga apektado ng bagyo,” he added. (Now, they were surprised by the strong typhoon. They are either facing fund shortages or have no funds at all to be used in giving assistance in typhoon-affected areas.)
Meanwhile, Go appealed to the public to remain vigilant, cooperate with authorities, and follow necessary health and safety protocols despite the decreasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
“Kahit bumababa ‘yung positive cases natin, huwag tayong magkumpiyansa. Patuloy tayong magbayanihan at sumunod sa mga patakaran upang tuluyang malampasan ang krisis na ito,” he said. (We should not be complacent as positive cases are decreasing. We should continue adopting community spirit and following health protocols so that we could hurdle this crisis.)
He also reiterated that the pandemic response and guidelines being issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (ITAF-EID) are always based on good science and verified studies.