PNoy spends night in tent in Bohol evacuation center

 

Like tens of thousands across the earthquake-ravaged province, Aquino and his entourage slept in tents Wednesday night while in Loon, which had been one of the most isolated towns in Bohol just after the cataclysm of October 15. 

 

The last time he slept in a tent was in grade school, according to information reaching GMA News reporter Ruth Cabal, who has been shadowing the President's entourage but along with the rest of the press corps, was not allowed to see the President's humble abode for the night. 

"Medyo parang na-experience natin ulit noong panahon ng boy scout na camping," Aquino told reporters on Thursday, adding that he slept in a folding bed from the army.

"Yung folding bed ng army may bakal sa bandang gitna na pagka-nadaganan mo yung tela, diretso ka doon sa mga bakal sa gitna. Pero solid naman siya, nakabukas yung dalawang side nung tent parang kaalinsunod nung direksyon ng hangin, sabi ko: ‘Uy, presko ah.’" he said.
 

Cabal also said she was unsure if portable toilets were available where the President was staying as there were none in some evacuation centers in the area. However, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said materials to build temporary toilets had been delivered there, she noted.

Also, Aquino said he felt some aftershocks at around 3 a.m. but other than that, he said he felt like he was on vacation.
 
"Sa lakas nung hangin, sa lamig nung hangin ay talagang preskong-presko; parang, kumbaga, naka-aircon hihinaan mo nga sana kaya lang, syempre, natural na natural," he said.

"Nakatulog naman [ako]...in spite of all of the damage parang napaalala sa atin yung potentials that will soon be realized in Bohol," he added.
 

Aquino purposely did not seek better accommodations to experience what many disaster evacuees go through every day, Cabal reported. 

"Siguro naman po ay mararamdaman talaga natin iyong pagkalinga na nais ipahatid ng ating Pangulo at ng pamahalaan sa kanila," Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said during a press briefing at the Palace on Thursday.
 

Rtuh Cabal's report said the president wanted to assure residents that it is already safe despite talk of a possible occurrence of a sinkhole or even another powerful earthquake. Phivolcs has said that the scores of aftershocks since October 15 were just minor tremors as the tectonic plates in the earth stabilize. The occasionaly shaking of the earth, however, can still dislodge loose debris in homes and buildings.

 

Aquino stressed the need for life to return to normalcy as much as possible despite the aftershocks, the report added.

 

Cabal noted that the President was accompanied by some Cabinet members and the Presidential Security Group.

 

Meanwhile, from Loon town, Aquino was set to visit Sagbayan on Thursday to inspect what volcanologists believe was the epicenter of the earthquake, the most devastating to strike the country in over two decades. Sagbayan's poblacion is in ruins, its municipal hall with Greek-like pillars reduced to the frame of the building, as walls and fixtures tumbled during the quake.

 

Aquino has ordered the immediate delivery of relief goods to far-flung areas as roads have been cleared and access returned, the report said. He also assured that around P20-billion of savings may be tapped for the recovery and rehabilitation of Bohol.

 

In its 6 a.m. update, the NDRRMC said the quake had affected 631,605 families or 3,158,009 people in 1,494 villages in 59 towns and six cities in six provinces.

 

Of these, 14,740 families or 78,897 people are staying in 125 evacuation centers, it said.

 

At least 2,654 aftershocks were recorded since the Oct. 15 quake, the NDRRMC added. Of these, it said 68 had been felt.

 

The death toll remained at 198, with 185 in Bohol. The number of injured people went up to 668, with 574 of them in Bohol. – Amanda Fernandez and Kimberly Jane T. Tan /HS/LBG, GMA News