P’noy inspected damages of typhoons in Central Luzon

BALER, Aurora, October 6, 2011-President Aquino personally visited and assessed the extent of damages battered by typhoons Pedring and Quiel in the most affected provinces of Tarlac, Pampanga and Bulacan.

Aquino inspected La Paz town section of the Rio Chico river and met with Public Works secretary Rogelio Singson, Tarlac Governor Victor Yap, Tarlac 3^rd district representative Jeci Lapus and La Paz Mayor Michael Manuel at the 246m Rio Chico Bridge.

Heavy siltation of the Rio Chico river is reportedly the main cause of flooding in La Paz that displaced thousands of families and most of the town went unpassable to all types of land vehicles along Romulo highway, Camiling-Bayombong-Pangasinan Sawat section, Lapaz-Zaragosa section, Victoria-Guimba road and Calibungan section; thus, President Aquino ordered Singson to draw a concrete rehabilitation plan for the river to avoid severe flooding in the future.

Aquino then proceeded to the municipal plaza of La Paz and visited some 59 families still evacuated therein. Hundreds of families coming from barangays San Isidro and San Roque sought shelter in the plaza in the height of last week’s floods.

P’noy also proceeded to Pampanga, and visited the site of the ongoing Pinatubo Hazard Urgent Mitigation Project Phase 3-B (PHUMP 3-B) in Barangay San Felipe in the San Fernando City.

Governor Lilia Pineda briefed Aquino regarding the status of the Pampanga river while City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriguez presented the status of PHUMP 3-B.

Rodriguez said that the PHUMP 3-B is a flood control project that serves as a line of defense for the City of San Fernando and nearby towns against flooding.

A P20 million  fund was committed by Aquino for the dredging, slope protection and rehabilitation of the Balimbing creek which is a waterway than when overflowed inundates many barangays in the City of San Fernando as well as offered assistance in the relocation of informal settlers along the Pampanga river.

The president also inspected some of the flooded areas in Calumpit, Bulacan aboard a 6x6 Philippine Army truck and visited around 80 families evacuated in the United Pulp and Paper Company compound in Barangay Iba Este.

Aquino then motored to the Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center in Malolos City and attended the joint meeting of the Regional Development Council 3 (RDC 3) and Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council 3 (RDRRMC 3).

Some cabinet secretaries also participated in the said meeting. Among those who attended include Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Singson, Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo, Health Secretary Enrique Ona, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Sonny Coloma and Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang.

RDC 3 and RDRRMC 3 members reported to the President the post-Pedring and Quiel recovery and rehabilitation efforts being done in Region 3 and the situation of more than 1,721,122 victims of typhoons.

The Department of Agriculture reported to P’Noy that more than P12 billion pesos of damages has brought by the typhoons. DA undersecretary Antonio Fieta revealed that the biggest damage was in Palay amounting to P11 billion, P221 million damage in high value crops like fruits and vegetables, P3.3 million in livestock and P4 million in fisheries.

Fieta said that a total of 6.5 million metric tons in Palay will be harvested in central Luzon but due to the typhoons it is now gone.

Among the casualties in region 3 reported are 30 death toll, 5 missing and 10 injured brought by typhoons.

Prior to this, Northern Luzon Command chief Major General Jessie Dellosa, OCD Region 3 Director Josefina Timoteo and Central Luzon police region 3 operation and plans division chief Col Amador Corpuz conducted areal survey to the most affected stricken-typhoon in the region.

Dellosa immediately provided air and water assets for rescue and relief operations. The concept adopted by the office of civil defense with the NOLCOM was 1^st priority is rescue then relief operations in the provinces of Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bulacan, Zambales and Pampanga. (Jason de Asis)