As she continues to visit typhoon-stricken areas in Visayas and Mindanao, one of the realizations presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo had was the need for the country to place electric and communication lines underground to prevent disruption in services during natural calamities and disasters.
“One realization from the series of very strong typhoons which hit our country is that our next priority infrastructure development agenda should be putting electric and communication lines underground, particularly in typhoon-prone areas,” she said in a Facebook post on Tuesday, Dec. 21.
Robredo has been to Bohol, Cebu, Dinagat Islands, Surigao, and Southern Leyte, the hardest-hit areas by typhoon "Odette", to assess the situation on the ground, and coordinate with local officials on the immediate needs for recovery and rehabilitation.
In many of these areas, power and communication are out with no phone signal and electricity for days. This has disrupted businesses and jobs. Not to mention, it will take weeks—and even months—for these services to be restored.
READ: Robredo sees ‘heartbreaking’ devastation in Siargao, Dinagat Islands
The aspiring president said she has many reasons to believe that underground lines will be most “cost-effective".
“First, in the long run, this would be cost-effective compared to the recurring costly rehabilitation of above-ground electric and communication lines and posts which are felled and destroyed by typhoons;
Second, the disruption and absence of power and communication services adversely affect the economy and business,” she explained.
Aside from the compromising the economy, she said the lack of power and communication lines also greatly hamper the extension of health, hygiene, and sanitation services, as well as virtual and face-to-face classes.
Robredo said this proposal was pushed in the past by her fellow Bicolano, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman. She said his district is “right smack in the typhoon belt".
“It is high time to start giving it very serious consideration,” the lady official added.
READ: Robredo to typhoon victims: We're with you every step of the way
The death toll from Odette jumped to 375 on Monday, Dec. 20, government officials said.
The typhoon, the strongest to hit the country this year, made a total of nine landfalls—the first one occurring in Siargao on Thursday evening and the last in Palawan on Friday afternoon.
Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated and billions’ worth of properties were destroyed.