Speaker Romualdez, Tingog set to release P128.5-M aid to 'Egay'-stricken provinces
Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office)
Speaker Martin Romualdez and Tingog Party-list are preparing the release of P128.5 million in relief goods and financial assistance for the victims of Super Typhoon "Egay" in Northern Luzon. The release of the assistance will start Thursday, July 27, said Speaker Romualdez. Of the P128.5 million in relief and financial assistance, P23.5 million will come from Speaker Romualdez’s personal calamity fund, raised partly from contributions from friends during his birthday celebration last year. “We hope the aid will ease the pain and suffering of our people who are affected by the super howler,” he said in a statement Wednesday, July 26. Speaker Romualdez, Leyte's 1st district representative, asked the people of the north to keep safe amid the lingering threat of heavy rains, flooding, and landslide as Egay moves away from the country. The super typhoon made landfall in Cagayan Wednesday morning. The House leader also urged concerned agencies and local government units (LGUs) to undertake road and infrastructure repairs as soon as weather permits. Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, the Speaker’s wife, said the relief and financial assistance “symbolizes the compassion of the House leadership and its commitment to help our people in distress". “We hope our kababayan in the north and their communities are able to recover fast from this adversity,” she said. Some P105 million out of the P128.5 million assistance will be released via the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under Secretary Rex Gatchalian. The P128.5 million will be allocated to eight congressional districts in the north, namely Ilocos Norte, 1st district; Ilocos Sur, 2nd district; Cagayan, 1st district; Cagayan, 2nd district; Ilocos Sur, 1st district; Cagayan, 3rd district; Benguet, lone district; and Baguio, lone district. Baguio City (local government) will also receive assistance.