ILOILO CITY – Nothing could be holier than spending the Holy Week helping those affected by landslides and flood brought by tropical storm ‘’Agaton,” something that many people from the provinces of Iloilo and Capiz did.
Many cancelled their planned trips to Boracay Island in Aklan province and to other beach destinations in northern Iloilo province. Instead of long vacations, folks and organizations started donation drives to buy food backs and hygiene kits. They also personally delivered the relief goods.
Based on data released by the Western Visayas Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (Western Visayas RDRRMC), almost a million people in Iloilo and Capiz provinces were affected by the flood.
The death toll from ‘Agaton’ has risen to 137, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Friday. Hundreds are still missing.
The private-led distribution of relief goods augmented the relief operations of the national government led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as well as the relief operations of local government units (LGUs).