Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Saturday personally turned over relief assistance from his office and the city government of Valenzuela to some municipal mayors of Davao Oriental that were badly affected by floodings and landslides due to the recent shearline and the trough of Low Pressure Area (LPA).
The ceremonial turnover, which was witnessed by Davao Oriental Representatives Nelson Dayanghirang and Cheeno Miguel Almario, was held at dusitD2 in Davao City
Earlier on Saturday, Gatchalian flew to affected municipalities in Davao de Oro, Davao Oriental, and Agusan del Sur and distributed rice to floods and landslide victims.
Gatchalian turned over 600 sacks of rice to the municipality of Governor Generoso, 400 sacks of rice to the municipality of Banay Banay, 200 sacks of rice to the municipality of San Isidro, 200 sacks of rice to the municipality of Boston, 400 sacks to the municipality of Lupon, 200 sacks to the municipality of Manay, and 400 sacks to the municipality of Caraga.
The senator handed over a total of 12,800 sacks of rice worth P16 million.
The assistance was provided by the Office of the Senator and the local government of Valenzuela.
In an interview, Gatchalian said this is just the first of the aids he will be extending to the affected municipalities.
“I am coordinating with the LGUs kung kailangan pang dagdagan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian urged LGUs to boost disaster preparedness.
He also reiterated the need for LGUs to improve their respective disaster preparedness programs.
“Sa gitna ng matinding sakuna na naranasan ng ating mga kababayan sa Mindanao, mahalaga ang ating pagkilos tungo sa mas pangmatagalang paghahanda. Panahon na para taasan ang antas ng kahandaan ng mga LGU upang mapanatili ang kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian’s Senate Bill No. 939, An Act Expanding The Application Of The Local Disaster Risk Reduction And Management Fund, seeks to amend Republic Act 10121 or The Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.
He hopes that the enactment of the proposed measure would provide LGUs more leeway in implementing projects that would strengthen their disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and rehabilitation capabilities.
The senator emphasized that disaster-mitigation efforts would be greatly improved if LGUs had the necessary funds to provide local infrastructure projects designed to protect their localities against natural disasters.
He added that by enabling LGUs to have their own funds for disaster preparedness, they would be able to fund infrastructure projects designed to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, pay for obligations incurred in funding projects related to disaster preparedness and mitigation, and hire necessary personnel required to implement disaster risk reduction and management programs.
