President Marcos visited for the second time yesterday victims of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Cebu, and cited the progress of relief and rehabilitation efforts in areas severely affected by the temblor.
Marcos said all families who lost their homes during the calamity now have temporary shelters as the government has started replacing tents with sturdier modular shelters.
‘I’m happy to report that every family (displaced by the earthquake) now has a place to stay, although these are only tents for the meantime,’ Marcos said during his visit to the ‘tent city’ in Barangay Cogon in Bogo City, the epicenter of the temblor.
‘We will keep working to make sure everybody’s OK, healthy and provided with their needs,’ he added.
Marcos thanked the Philippine Red Cross, led by its chairman and former senator Richard Gordon for assisting the quake victims, noting that most of the tents were provided by the Red Cross.
‘When you have a good leader, the people will move fast,’ Gordon said, to which the President responded: ‘Yes, definitely.’
Aside from Gordon, Marcos was accompanied by Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon and Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
Marcos also inspected the first-ever Bayanihan Village in Barangay Poblacion in San Remigio town, where modular shelter units have been set up for displaced families.
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, in collaboration with various government agencies, had set up at least 150 modular shelter units in Bogo City and in the towns of Daanbantayan and San Remigio, which were hardest hit by the temblor.
Marcos dropped by the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Bogo City to check ongoing repairs of damage caused by the earthquake.
During his first visit on Oct. 2, Marcos ordered the release of more than P200 million in assistance from the Office of the President, for distribution to affected local government units (LGUs).
He also ordered the Department of Budget and Management to release the Local Government Support Fund and download this to the provincial government of Cebu as well as to LGUs severely impacted by the calamity.
Death toll now 79
Meanwhile, the number of fatalities in the Cebu earthquake increased to 79 yesterday.
The Office of Civil Defense said the increase in the death toll was due to late reporting of fatalities to LGUs.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the number of injured people remained at 559, with no one reported missing.
The number of damaged houses in Central Visayas has reached 141,524.
The NDRRMC said more than P416.9 million worth of food and non-food assistance have been provided to affected communities including 1,302 families or 5,079 people who are staying in 17 evacuation centers.