Paeng’s aftermath
TACLOBAN CITY-Two lawmakers from Eastern Visayas have joined the move of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a state of calamity in areas hard-hit typhoon “Paeng.”
House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin “FM” Romualdez said he is giving his “full support of the recommendation made by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) for Pres. Marcos, Jr. to declare a state of calamity due to the effects, damage, and projected impacts by Paeng which pummeled several areas in the country, to include Eastern Visayas, last October 28.
Southern Leyte Rep. Christopher ‘Coco’ Yap also expressed his support on this move of the President.
“Although our district was spared from major devastation comparable to what we experienced with Super Typhoon Odette, there are parts of the country that needs the national government’s assistance in order to rise again from this natural calamity,” the lawmaker, representing the second congressional of his province, said.
According to Yap, the declaration is important “to immediately mitigate the impact brought about by Typhoon Paeng.”
Yap led the monitoring and assistance of the affected local government units as Paeng caused floods and landslides in his district in Southern Leyte.
Placed under a state of calamity by Pres. Marcos last Nov. 2 were Calabarzon, Bicol, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Western Visayas.
These areas bore the brunt of the massive impact of Paeng that resulted in the death of more than 100 people and ‘adversely affected’ over 1.4 million people.
In the region, about five people died while about 65,744 families comprising of 270,807 individuals were affected by the typhoon.
On October 30, Sangguniang Panlungsod of Calbayog also held a special session to pass a resolution declaring a state of calamity in the entire Calbayog City due to the massive destructions and damages brought by Paeng. (RONALD O. REYES)
