Marcos assures quake-affected communities of total gov't support

Earthquake-affected communities in Mindanao will receive all the necessary assistance from the government, President Marcos assured them.

Marcos said the government has already prepared all the necessary assistance and relief operations to those whose families, houses, propeerties or businesses were adversely affected.

The rebuilding of their houses, however, will have to be done later as the region continues to experience aftershocks.

“Pati yung mga rebuilding, hindi pa natin puwedeng simulan dahil may aftershocks pa. Ang problema sa lindol, walang forecast – hindi natin alam kung ano ang mangyayari (We cannot start with the rebuilding yet because of the aftershocks. The problem with earthquake(s) is that there is no forecast, we do not know what could happen),” Marcos said in a media interview in General Santos City on Thursday, Nov. 23

“But mayroon tayong – lahat ng assistance, pangangailangan ng mga inabutan, ‘yung mga nawalan ng bahay, yung mga mangingisda, yung mga injured – lahat ‘yan patuloy na magbibigay ang DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development] ng assistance (But we have all the assistance for those who were affected, who lost their homes, the fishermen, those who were injured—the DSWD will continue to provide them assistance,” he ensured.

The President visited General Santos City to personally monitor the conditions of the earthquake victims, a few hours after he sat in a briefing with government officials on the condition of the flood victims in Eastern and Northern Samar.

He emphasized that the government will prioritize their recovery from the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that jolted Mindanao last week.

READ MORE: Marcos flies to Tacloban, GenSan amid massive flooding, strong quake aftermath