Bato, pals donate P100K for Naga victims

BUREAU of Corrections (BuCor) chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa (12th from left) and his biker friends take time for a photo opportunity in Naga City after handing over the P100,000 check to Mayor Kristine Chiong.
CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO

BUREAU of Corrections (BuCor) chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa handed to Naga City Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong a check worth P100,000 as aid for the victims of the massive landslide that hit the city’s Barangay Tinaan.

The amount, according to Dela Rosa, was from his own pocket and his friends who did not want to be named and opted to course the donations through him.

Bringing with him some 50 local bikers and friends, Dela Rosa dropped by the Naga City hall to personally hand over the check to Chiong shortly past 7 a.m. on Sunday, October 7.

Although Dela Rosa affirmed that his bid for the senatorial race is final, Dela Rosa said the aid should not be taken as an election campaign stunt.

“I hope other people will not put a different color on this because not all of this amount came from my pocket. Some of our friends contributed money to help our countrymen who are suffering from the tragedy,” he said in Cebuano.

“Whether there is an election approaching or not, if one can help there is no reason not to extend help as long as the giving of the aid is heartfelt and sincere,” he added in Cebuano.

There are currently of 1,600 families in Naga City that are still housed in 11 evacuation centers in compliance with the 1-kilometer preventive evacuation ordered by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD – 7) has already extended around P5 million worth of relief and financial assistance to landslide victims in Naga City.

Based on their Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (Dromic) report as of Friday (Oct. 5), the national agency has spent a total of P 5,237,204. 28 on affected residents for about two weeks since the massive landslide that happened in Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tinaan last Sept. 20.

Of the amount, around P3.2 million was utilized for the purchased of non-food items for the victims and another P1.7 million spent for food that was already distributed to the affected families.