The Office of the President (OP) pledged to donate more than P200 million to Cebu province and its local government units to help them in rehabilitation works following the powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the donation during a situation briefing with members of the Cabinet and officials of the local government of Cebu province outside the city hall of Bogo City on Thursday.
‘I know at this point that the [quick response] funds of the provincial government and the local governments are already depleted or about to run out. Because you were compelled to realign the money that you were supposed to use for other purposes to help your people,’ he said.
According to the President, P50 million of the OP’s donation would go to Cebu provincial government, while another P20 million would be provided for Bogo City, which was the epicenter of the powerful earthquake.
The OP would also provide assistance to nine of Cebu province’s towns affected by the earthquake.
These were in San Remigio and Sogod, which would receive P20 million each; and the municipalities of Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Madridejos, Medellin, Santa Fe, Tabogon, and Tabuelan, which would get P10 million each.
According to President Marcos, the national government would also provide P20 million for Department of Health-retained hospitals in the province, and P5 million each for each provincial hospital.
More funds from DBM
Furthermore, the President also ordered the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release a government support fund worth P150 million for Cebu and P75 million for San Remigio, Bogo, and Medellin.
‘This is only an initial release; we are contemplating further releases that will be in the pipeline,’ he said of the fund from the DBM.
At least 72 individuals reportedly died and 294 were injured due to the temblor, which damaged several heritage churches, billions worth of roads and bridges, many residential houses, and hundreds of classrooms, while causing widespread power outages in the province.
The magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck at 9:59 p.m., with the epicenter located 21 kilometers northeast of Bogo City, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.