PALO, Leyte- Secretary Mar Roxas of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) visited Leyte to distribute checks to areas hit by supertyphoon Yolanda.
During his visit on April 11 and 12, Roxas distributed a total amount of P801.80 million to 35 areas in Leyte which sustained damages due to Yolanda.
And among the recipients was Tacloban with its mayor, Alfred Romualdez, personally receiving the financial assistance.
Roxas said that Tacloban received P230.87 million which is about 80 percent of the total amount that he distributed.
Tacloban is considered to be the “ground zero” of Yolanda’s wrath.
The DILG Secretary stressed that the financial assistance should be used by the local governments for the repair of their city or municipal hall; civic centers; public markets and key public infrastructures.
According to Roxas in Leyte, out of 40 municipalities hit by Yolanda 35 received checks while the five others will be directly assisted by foreign agencies.
A total of 19 mayors or their representatives received their checks in Palo and others received it in Baybay and Ormoc cities.
The assistance, according to Roxas, is part of the national government’s Recovery Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) to cities and municipalities in Leyte and other areas that sustained damages due to the supertyphoon that hit the Visayas on November 8, 2013.
Roxas requested the local chief executives present during the distribution of checks to buy products from their localities and employ local laborers so that the money will circulate within their areas and help in the process revive their economies.
Roxas also emphasized that the LGU has the option whether they will handle the construction work or bid them out.
He then requested the mayors to construct their structures that could withstand a supertyphoon as much as possible. (LIZBETH ANN ABELLA).
