NDRRMC chair says PH open to foreign aid for 'Odette' victims
The country has enough funds to rehabilitate the areas that were devastated by typhoon “Odette” but the national government is willing to accept foreign assistance.
As of Tuesday, Dec. 21, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the number of affected population already ballooned to 1,113,373 across Mimaropa (Region 4B), Regions 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, Caraga (Region 13), and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
A state of calamity was also declared in at least 12 localities: 11 in Agusan del Norte and one in Butuan City as of December 20.
More local government units (LGUs) are expected to follow as electricity and communication lines were slowly restored in some areas and the extent of damage became much clearer, the NDRRMC noted.
The government has initially allotted P2 billion for the recovery of the most affected regions, according to NDRRMC Chairman and Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
Whether this will be enough to sustain the immediate needs of those affected, Lorenzana said: “We’ll see.”
“If there is no foreign assistance, we can stand on our own but if there are donors, we will accept,” he added.
Odette is projected to inflict at least P5 billion worth of agricultural and infrastructure damages in Bohol alone which is one of the hardest hit by the typhoon, according to Governor Arthur Yap.
But so far, the NDRRMC has only reported P225.31 million worth of infrastructure damages in Mimaropa, Regions 7, 10, 12, and Caraga; and P162.88 million agricultural losses in Mimaropa, Regions 5, 7, 10, and Caraga.
There were 156 reported fatalities, of which, nine were confirmed by the NDRRMC while 147 were undergoing validation. There were two confirmed deaths in Guimaras and one each in Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental, and Misamis Oriental.
The other reported deaths were in Bohol (68), Cebu (54), Negros Oriental (17), Agusan del Sur (4), Palawan (3), Misamis Oriental (2), and Butuan City (1).
There were 37 individuals who were reported missing and 257 injured victims.
Electricity also remains a problem for the typhoon victims. Out of the 236 cities and municipalities that experienced power interruption at the height of Odette, only 28 areas have restored their electricity.
Meanwhile, communication lines were already restored in 107 out of 135 affected cities and municipalities.