Palace on Duterte order to buy tarps for Odette victims: Tarps now, housing materials by Jan. 2022

Malacañang said Wednesday that President Rodrigo Duterte's order to buy tarpaulins to aid victims whose houses were destroyed by Typhoon Odette is only for immediate relief, and that government procurement of house construction materials will follow suit. 

"Those [tarpaulins] are the immediate needs on the ground. The President's order was based on the request of the local government units and their constituents," acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said during the Palace briefing.

"Ito ang mabilis, agarang solusyon (This is for immediate relief), for tarpaulins to act as temporary shelters, while waiting for the construction materials. The sending of housing construction materials will come later," he added.

Nograles then said the procurement of housing construction materials for the LGUs hit by Odette will be undertaken by January to March 2022.

"This [timeline] is because of the procurement and delivery process," Nograles added.

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), in coordination with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and International Organization for Migration, earlier handed over a total of 5,598 shelter-grade tarpaulin sheets to Odette-affected communities in Cebu, Bohol, Southern Leyte, and CARAGA region.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Wednesday said a total of 4,176,567 people or 1,073,538 families were affected by Typhoon Odette in around 6,000 barangays. At least 305,229 were displaced from their homes, some of them now staying in 1,201 evacuation centers. 

The most affected areas were Palawan, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Southern Leyte, Leyte, Dinagat Islands, and Surigao del Norte, the NDRRMC said.

At least 531,128 houses were damaged — 358,834 partially and 172,294 totally. A total of P16,715,334,982 worth of damage in infrastructure and P5,517,549,728 in agriculture were also reported.

The NDRRMC earlier said Typhoon Odette could be considered the fiercest tropical cyclone to hit the country this year. —KG, GMA News