“As a mother of four, their safety is my utmost priority. But now, as a mother of the entire province of Abra, of more than 250,000 residents, I am grieving for the possible lasting effects of this to their security.”
Thus, said Abra’s lone district Rep. Ching Bernos as she asked the national government to send aid to her constituents in Abra, which was the epicenter of a magnitude 7.3 earthquake on Wednesday morning, July 27.
Read:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/27/magnitude-7-3-earthquake-jolts-parts-of-luzon-phivolcs/
“Earlier today at 8:43 a.m., the province of Abra, specifically the municipality of Lagangilang, was hit by the magnitude 7.3 earthquake. This strong earthquake was felt as far as the southern parts of Luzon, including us here in Metro Manila,” Bernos began her privileged address before the House plenary.
“This is the strongest earthquake to have impacted our province in recent memory and even the region since the 1990 earthquake in Baguio,” she continued.
She then detailed the damage sustained by the province as well as the lone fatality and nearly 50 injuries caused by the disaster.
“Information relayed to our office by the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC)...one casualty and 47 injuries were recorded across six municipalities,” Bernos bared.
“Many school buildings that will be used when face-to-face classes open next month and health facilities like rural health units, responsible for first-level response in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, were also damaged. Even our Abra provincial hospital had shown signs of damages that patients had to be evacuated to safety, as the entire province prepared for multiple aftershocks,” she lamented.
“Moreover, communication lines are unstable, and Abreños from other places find it difficult to reach their family members. Many people were also stranded along major roads and bridges in the area of responsibility as the earthquake have also destroyed the roads and bridges, and made many of them unpassable. Power was also interrupted, further complicating reporting on the extent of the damages to the province,” the Abra lawmaker said.
In her address, she called on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to offer aid to her people.
“I am standing here as the representative of the peoples of Abra, imploring our kakailian, our President Marcos Jr., to extend all available assistance to the province of Abra to help us rise from the ashes of this devastating disaster,” Bernos pleaded.
“We ask him to mobilize relevant agencies like the NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council), DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), DepEd (Department of Education), DOH (Department of Health), DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) PNP (Philippine National Police), and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), and the DOTR (Department of Transportation) to help us get back on track,” she said.
Read:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/27/marcos-assures-assistance-for-abra-quake-victims/
https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/27/dswd-releases-p10m-for-victims-of-7-0-magnitude-luzon-quake/
Immediately after the quake, Bernos’s office released photos depicting the ground situation of the quake-shaken citizens of the municipality of Bangued, Abra. Bernos was where the lone casualty was recorded.