RESCUE EFFORTS GO FULL BLAST / NO MORE STATE OF
CALAMITY IN VISAYAS
[PHOTO
AT LEFT - An Air Force rescue worker lifts a boy to safety in Villasis,
Pangasinan. RUDY SANTOS |LINGAYEN, Pangasinan ,
Philippines]
LINGAYEN, OCTOBER 11, 2009 (STAR) By Eva Visperas - Floodwaters from typhoon “Pepeng” still submerged much of the province as search and rescue operations went into full gear, with authorities rescuing thousands who clambered onto the roofs of their homes to escape the rising waters.
Officials led by Paterno Orduña of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council said yesterday that the number of casualties doubled from five to 10, and is expected to increase as soon as floodwaters start to recede.
He said search and rescue teams are now trying to reach isolated areas in the province where thousands are still on rooftops awaiting help.
The onslaught of Pepeng last Friday brought heavy rains, submerging over half of the province since yesterday.
The major population centers of the province as well as 38 towns went underwater, making it more difficult to coordinate rescue and evacuation efforts.
Heavy military trucks could not penetrate the roads, most of them submerged in floodwaters, worsened by the discharge of excess water from the San Roque Dam already brimming from the heavy rains since Thursday night.
Officials said 8,872 families or about 42,123 people have been placed in 81 evacuation centers in flood-affected towns.
Orduña said the towns of Mangaldan, San Fabian, Villasis and Rosales were the worst affected by floods.
He added the more than 1,000 people who were stranded at the SM department store in Carmen, Rosales last Friday had been rescued.
Thousands of motorists and commuters were forced to seek refuge at the shopping mall as they were prevented from wading into the raging floods.
Commuters trapped in stalled buses along the national highway in Rosales were forced to climb out through the vehicles’ windows and wade through the rampaging floodwaters to seek refuge at the shopping mall.
Coast Guard divers broke open the glass windows of two passenger buses stalled along the national highway to rescue commuters trapped inside.
The Coast Guard said the town of Rosales was the most affected since it is precariously located along the swollen Agno River.
President Arroyo arrived here and was briefed by officials led by Gov. Amado Espino on the rescue and relief efforts.
This developed as relief agencies started coming in yesterday and started their own rescue and relief efforts in the province.
Mrs. Arroyo congratulated the officials for undertaking the preemptive evacuation of many residents that resulted in minimal casualties.
“In Pangasinan, we congratulate everybody for the preemptive evacuation before the announced opening of the floodgates (of San Roque Dam), that’s why the casualties were less,” she said.
The President, however, took note of the damage to property and infrastructure.
The Provincial Engineering Office (PEO) said the estimate damage to infrastructure was at P69.05 million.
The PEO said the Ambayaon Bridge in San Nicolas worth P10 million was washed out. The Sison-Rosario Bridge linking Pangasinan to La Union province was also damaged.
Officials reported that the floods also damaged several other bridges, roads, dikes and spillways.
Espino told the President that 80 percent of the province is still flooded, stressing the huge damage on agriculture and crops.
“So we have to concentrate on restoring damaged agriculture and damaged infrastructure,” Mrs. Arroyo said.
The President ordered Department of Public Works and Highways regional director Mariano Alquiza to start work immediately.
“We have to construct something next week. Every sunny day that nothing is constructed is a waste of time,” she said.
Mrs. Arroyo said she would authorize the release of funds as soon as she gets the estimate of the repair and rehabilitation costs.
Alquiza told Mrs. Arroyo that total cost of repair and rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure in the province might reach P80 million.
In Central Luzon, eight villages in the coastal town of Calumpit in Bulacan are still under water.
Officials said 156 families or 566 people were evacuated as the floodwaters coming from Pampanga and Nueva Ecija began descending on the low-lying villages in Calumpit.
The affected villages include Sapang Bayan, Bulusan, Sta. Lucia, San Jose, Gugo, Meysulao, San Miguel, and Frances.
The towns of Calumpit and Hagonoy usually bear the brunt of floodwaters flowing from the Candaba swamps and the Pampanga River that overflow from the water coming from the provinces of Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac.
This was worsened by the release of excess water coming from Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija.
Officials also reported the water level in the Angat Dam in Bulacan had increased 214 meters, well over the spilling level of 212 meters.
Officials though said the Angat Dam could still hold more water since it has a spill buffer of 216 meters. – With Cesar Ramirez, Ric Sapnu, Dino Balabo and Teddy Molina
No more state of calamity in Visayas, Mindanao By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star) Updated October 11, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo has lifted the state of calamity in the Visayas and Mindanao since those regions were not affected by the two devastating typhoons that recently hit the country.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the President decided on the lifting after hearing the recommendations of Defense Secretary and National Disaster Coordinating Council chairman Gilbert Teodoro Jr., Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.
Remonde said the President saw no more need to maintain the mandated price ceilings nationwide since the situation in the markets has started to normalize.
“This decision is based on the obvious absence of bad weather in those regions as well as the President’s determination that it is no longer necessary to maintain price ceilings nationwide in order to ensure the protection of the calamity victims in Luzon,” he said.
President Arroyo declared a nationwide state of calamity last Oct. 2 after tropical storm “Ondoy” ravaged Metro Manila and some provinces in Luzon.
Ondoy was followed by typhoon “Pepeng,” which hit most of northern Luzon, particularly Pangasinan and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
President Arroyo initially declared a state of calamity in Metro Manila, Rizal and several other provinces in Luzon in response to the damage caused by Ondoy.
The nationwide state of calamity was declared because the President wanted to allow the local government units to tap their calamity funds for the relief and rehabilitation work needed.
She also wanted to prevent unscrupulous traders from diverting their goods outside of the calamity areas, which were automatically placed under price controls.
Since basic goods and necessities were subjected to a price freeze in the areas placed under a state of calamity, some traders sought to manipulate the market by diverting their supplies outside of these areas.
However, some legislators have warned of possible abuses in the use of the calamity funds, particularly with the 2010 elections fast approaching.
Remonde said the state of calamity would remain in Luzon for the time being “as it is still subject to the problems brought about by Pepeng.”
“This is subject to constant review by the President based on weather developments, the stability of price ceilings, the speed of relief and rehabilitation efforts and other changing conditions on the ground,” Remonde said.
He said the duration of the state of calamity in Luzon would depend on the conditions on the ground, considering that Metro Manila and several parts of Luzon are still in the process of relief and rehabilitation.
However, he said that this will not last for one year and would most likely be lifted by December, at the latest.
Remonde also made an appeal to critics of the administration who have questioned the wisdom of the President’s declaration as well as its purpose.
“I hope that this announcement not only clarifies matters but will also reassure those among us who may have been alarmed by provocative comments about the supposedly darker agenda behind the President’s declaration of a state of calamity,” he said.
“As our country tries to recover from these recent tragedies wrought by nature, we can only hope that our inveterate critics and doomsayers will finally be enlightened by common decency and common sense for the sake of our common purpose,” he added.
GMA: ‘LGUs must take the lead’
Meanwhile, President Arroyo called on all local government units (LGUs) affected by calamities not to be too dependent on the national government by taking the lead in rehabilitation efforts.
“The primary responsibility of rehabilitation (of damaged agriculture and infrastructure facilities) is in the (hands of the) LGUs,” the President said during a briefing on the extent of damage in Cagayan Valley held at the regional police command.
The President also brought along some 300 bags of relief goods for distribution in selected villages in the most severely hit Cagayan towns of Peñablanca, Solana and Iguig.
Present during the event were Cagayan Gov. Alvaro Antonio, Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca, Quirino Gov. Dakila Cua, Cagayan Rep. Manuel Mamba as well as Mayors Delfin Ting and William Mamba of Tuguegarao City and Tuao town, respectively.
Chief Superintendent Roberto Damian, Cagayan Valley police director and head of the Cagayan Valley Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC), briefed the President on the extent of damage wreaked by Pepeng as well as initial remedial measures being undertaken specially in worst-hit typhoon areas.
Based on RDCC damage assessment reports, some P2.2 billion in crops and infrastructure have been damaged with Cagayan incurring the biggest loss at P1.9 billion, followed by Isabela with P250 million, Quirino with P150 million, and Nueva Vizcaya, P65 million.
The President commended the RDCC for its prompt calamity response efforts resulting in zero deaths in the region.
Based on reports, only seven persons in Cagayan province were injured as a result of the typhoon.
And although there was no report of fatalities, Damian said some 76,000 families or 326,000 individuals were either displaced or affected, most of them from the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela. – With Charlie Lagasca