ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 23, 2012) – Heavy rains in the southern Philippines have flooded many villages, particularly in the province of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental where government relief efforts are continuing for the victims of typhoon Bopha.
The military said many roads have become impassable in the areas because of flash floods and dangers posed by landslides. Relief operations have slowed down due to flooded roads, but aids continue to pour for tens of thousands of people affected by the deadly typhoon on December 4.
Sulu province has sent truck loads of relief goods for the typhoon victims. Gov. Sakur Tan said the aid was part of campaign launched by the provincial government in coordination with the Armed Forces, the Sulu Area Coordination Center and the Sulu Women’s Council headed by his wife Hajja Nurunisah Tan.
“These are concerted efforts by our people and in our own little way, we try our best to help those affected by the typhoon. We also would like to express our grief to the families of those who perished in the typhoon,” Gov. Tan said.
Fazlur Abdulla, Executive Director of the Sulu Area Coordination Center, said the Sulu Women’s Council was the driving force in the campaign to bring aid to the provinces worst hit by the typhoon that left over a thousand people dead and missing.
He said the Sulu Women’s Council was at the forefront of the humanitarian relief assistance for typhoon victims.
Mrs. Tan said the relief goods, shipped by the Philippine Navy to Zamboanga City, were handed over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“We empathize with the victims of the typhoon and in behalf of my colleagues in the Sulu Women’s Council, I would like to express my gratitude to those who shared their resources to help those in need. Our efforts are nothing compared to what the calamity victims are enduring, she said.
Gov. Mujiv Hataman, of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, also led a humanitarian mission in New Bataan town in Compostela Valley province. He distributed relief goods to typhoon victims.
Zamboanga City also donated P2 million for the typhoon victims.
Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said they would continue relief aid to Mindanao and vowed to look into the plight of the typhoon victims.
But San Juan Representative JV Ejercito Estrada said the Aquino government must provide more help and support to typhoon victims.
Ejercito Estrada said that aside from relief goods, the government should also consider providing them with farm inputs and post harvest-facilities since areas that were badly hit by typhoon Pablo were mostly farming communities.
“As we celebrate Christmas, let us not forget our brothers in Mindanao who have lost their own homes and their loved ones,” he said, adding the provision of farm inputs will be a good initial step to help farmers immediately rehabilitate their farm lands.
He said banana farmers from Compostela Valley are now keen on planting corn and other quick-maturing crops and vegetables. He said banana and coconut farmers can practice inter-cropping and plant fast-maturing crops so they can have an alternative source of income.
Banana farmers bore the brunt of the typhoon, destroying an estimated P8 billion worth of bananas. Coconut farmers also lost more than P700 million of crops due to strong winds. Without intervention, Ejercito Estrada expressed apprehension that affected residents in Mindanao would soon go hungry.
He said total damage to agriculture due to typhoon Pablo is expected to top P12 billion. “There is a limit to the relief goods and other forms of assistance we could give to typhoon victims. We need to help the victims stand on their own two feet,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)
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