Help CamSur folk rise from Rolly's devastation, local execs ask Duterte

Camarines Sur 2nd District Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte and his son, Governor Migz Villafuerte, on Monday appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to give immediate assistance to at least 80,000 families in the province hit 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.

According to Villafuerte, Camarines Sur was the "hardest hit" by Super Typhoon Rolly as the tropical cyclone struck the province over the weekend with maximum winds of 225 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 310 kilometers per hour.

Palay growers in the province, he added, were also severely affected as they were about to harvest their crops just weeks before the typhoon hit.

Governor Villafuerte has already written to the President to ask for assistance in the form of funding from the DSWD and other available fund resources for their proposed cash aid of P3,000 to P5,000 for each of the 80,000 families affected in the province.

“We likewise seek the assistance of the NHA through its Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) for many of our people whose homes have been totally or partially destroyed,” said the governor in his letter to the President.

“The province of CamSur has always been supportive of our national government efforts including that of preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the country. It is the only province in the entire Bicol Region with an isolation center and is continuing to provide free testing to targeted individuals,” he added.

According to 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.—LDF, GMA News