Cebu City to send aid to typhoon-battered Catanduanes on Friday

Cebu City will be sending aid to Catanduanes on November 13, 2020. | Photo Courtesy of Cebu City PIO

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City’s aid to typhoon-struck Catanduanes will be sent off on Friday, November 13, 2020, through the help of the Naval Forces.

Councilor David Tumulak, the city council’s chairperson for disaster risk reduction and management, said that it will take approximately 24 hours for the city’s team to travel to Catanduanes.

He added that it will be “worth it” as the people in Catanduanes desperately need any help they can get after being battered by three typhoons in a span of two weeks including Supertyphoon Rolly, Typhoon Shony, and in the last 48 hours, Typhoon Ulysses.

Tumulak assured that all 60 individuals including himself will have tested negative to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), a requirement for all volunteers for Catanduanes as the island province remains COVID-free.

The Cebu City team will be bringing food packs including 25,000 sardines, 1,000 sacks of rice, hygiene kits, P5 million in financial assistance from the city government, and a P97,000 cash donation from the residents.

Gallons of water in individual bottles have been donated by a local water bottle company as well as Catanduanes has reported a lack of potable water after the typhoons.

This is why the team sent will be composed of an engineering team, a medical team, and other logistics workers that would help in the clearing, fixing, and distribution of aid in the island province.

“Ang serbisyo nga mahatag nato sa Catanduanes kay ang pag-ayo sa linya sa kuryente, poso, clearing sa kadalanan labi na sa mga kahoy mga natumba. Maoy tuyo ni Mayor Labella ang pagpadalag tabang ngadto sa Catanduanes,” said Tumulak.

(The services we can give to Catanduanes would be to fix the electrical lines, water wells, and the clearing of roads especially from the trees that fell. This is the reason why Mayor Edgardo Labella sent us to Catanduanes.)

Tumulak will be accompanying the team to the island province to personally turn over the P5 million cash assistance. /rcg