Villafuerte seeks creation of task force to lead rehab efforts for typhoon-hit regions

Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte is urging President Rodrigo Duterte to create a special task force to lead the rehabilitation of provinces in the Bicol Region and Calabarzon successively hit by typhoons Quinta and Rolly.

Villafuerte made the proposal after the President conducted an aerial inspection of the distressed areas in Bicol and Calabarzon, which he said would give the chief executive immediate and first-hand information on the devastation brought by the typhoons over these regions.

At the same time, Villafuerte also filed a House resolution strongly urging the President  to "come up with a comprehensive Bicol rehabilitation program, in response to the heavy devastation by super typhoon Rolly."

This program includes the provision of "immediate relief, recovery, and reconstruction for rebuilding a better Bicol," in the aftermath of what has been described as the strongest typhoon in the world this year.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Camarines Sur on Monday placed the province under state of calamity to allow the provincial government to use available public funds for relief and other forms of assistance to families and individuals affected by Super Typhoon Rolly.

Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 5 was raised over Camarines Sur last Sunday due to the typhoon.

"A considerable amount of time and effort is needed from the national government to get the devastated provinces back on their feet soon enough following the magnitude of destruction wrought by two of the most powerful storms to hit the country,” Villafuerte said.

“Hence, the need for the national government to set up a special task force to oversee the major rehabilitation work," he added.

Flood-control projects

Villafuerte likewise appealed to the Department of Budget and Management to set aside funds for flood control projects for disaster-prone areas in Bicol.

He recalled that during a situation briefing in Pili town last year in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Usman, the President bared his plan to abolish the Road Board and allocate its funds to projects such as those for flood control in Bicol.

This was after Villafuerte himself suggested that a viable solution to flooding in the area is the dredging and desilting of the Bicol River.

Camarines Sur, he said, is the region's lowest-lying area that makes it a catch basin for floodwaters from other Bicol provinces during a typhoon.

“The national government could carry out the rehabilitation of the typhoon-battered provinces along with the dredging and desilting of the Bicol River in the remaining two years of the Duterte presidency,” he said.

Damage to CamSur

According to the initial report of the Camarines Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), around 251,000 families totalling to 1,025,770 individuals were affected by Super Typhoon Rolly.

It added that the typhoon also affected 24,458 farmers and wiped out P752 million-worth of palay, corn, and high-value crops; 34,450 fisherfolk and damaged P13.3 million-worth of municipal and inland fisheries stocks; and destroyed P1.9 billion-worth of infrastructure.

A total of 186 barangays in 29 municipalities were also left flooded, 20,658 houses were totally damaged, and 55,515 homes were partially damaged, the PDRRMC also said.

Likewise, the tropical cyclone left Iriga City and 35 municipalities in the province with no electricity, seven municipalities with interrupted water supply, and 13 municipalities with no communication lines, it added.

Villafuerte and his son, Governor Migz Villafuerte, earlier asked Duterte to give immediate assistance to at least 80,000 families in the province affected by Super Typhoon Rolly.

“We are appealing for immediate assistance from the President for the devastation wrought by super typhoon Rolly, particularly for the most severely affected 80,000 families all over the province’s 1,036 barangays, many of whom have totally or partially lost their homes to this extremely potent ‘Category 5’ cyclone that hit Bicol a week after the onslaught of Typhoon Quinta,” Rep. Villafuerte said in a statement.

“We need aid right away from the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) and the NHA (National Housing Authority) for CamSur folk who are now reeling from the triple whammy of super typhoons Rolly and Quinta and the lingering coronavirus pandemic,” he added.—AOL, GMA News