Mayor Cortes: Odette changed Mandaue’s preparation, planning for calamities
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes says super typhoon Odette has changed the way Mandaue City government looks at preparations and planning for calamities. | Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — Super Typhoon Odette has changed the way the Mandaue City government looks at preparation and planning for calamities.
Super Typhoon Odette, which ravaged the Visayas including Metro Cebu on Dec. 16, 2021 or a year ago from yesterday, was described by Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes as a lesson and an eye opener for the city government.
Mayor Cortes said Odette made people realize how important preparation and cooperation was between the city government and the public.
Cortes said that after the typhoon, there were big changes on the plans and approach of the city government especially regarding disaster and possibly protecting the environment.
Mayor Cortes: Resilient Mandaue
He said that this was the reason why the “resilient Mandaue” was one of the five-point agenda of his administration for this term.
The city is now empowering the barangays and families and would want to institutionalize the purok system especially since Puroks and barangays are the first responders whenever there is a disaster.
“Kinahanglan na gyud nga i-empower ang barangays…Kinahanglan na gyud nga atoa i-factor in ang environmental issues. Apil na niana ang resiliency. Comprehensive na gyud kaayo ang atoang approach sa atoang ekonomiya. Pagpanerbisyo apil na ang socialized housing nga ang atoang mga kaigsuunan nga anaa sa danger zone, marelocate,” said Cortes.
(We need to empower the barangays…we need to factor in the environmental issues. Included here is the resiliency. Our approach to our economy should be comprehensive. Service includes socialized housing for our brothers who are in the danger zone, and they should be relocated.)
Lesson learned
“Grabe gyud. it was a lesson para kanato’ng tanan, eye opener naman to nga hopefully atoa na gyud ni’ng pangandaman, expect the worse kung muabot ang bagyo,” he added.
(It was really difficult experience. It was a lesson for us all, an eye opener that hopefully we will realize that preparations will depend on us, expect the worse if a typhoon will arrive.)
Slowly, the city is recovering from the effects of the typhoon and the pandemic. The city will be making up with the lost opportunities, said Cortes.
The typhoon affected thousands of families in the city. Seven people also died after a fire wall of an establishment collapsed due to strong winds brought by Odette.
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