GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/13 Nov) — The city government has approved the release of some P10 million worth of relief and financial assistance for the victims of super typhoon “Yolanda” in parts of the Visayas region.
Mayor Ronnel Rivera said Wednesday that the local government will be sending some P3.5 million worth of relief goods and P6.5 million in cash assistance for communities heavily devastated by the typhoon.
He said the assistance was approved by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) in an emergency meeting on Tuesday.
The funds will be drawn from the quick response component of the CDRRMC budget, he said.
For the relief goods, Rivera said they will be preparing 10,000 assorted packs from the P3.5 million budget.
He said the financial assistance will be extended to local government units of areas that were hit hardest by the super typhoon, among them the cities of Tacloban and Iloilo, Bantayan Island in Cebu and parts of Eastern Samar.
The local government will also deploy its mobile hospital to the typhoon-ravaged areas to assist the ongoing medical mission and relief operations, he said.
The mayor said they are targeting to deliver by Friday the initial batch of the relief goods to the affected areas.
Aside from these, Rivera said they have launched a massive campaign for relief donations from residents in the city and the neighboring areas.
He said they have designated the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and the CDRRM office to spearhead the relief drive.
“We’re calling everyone to contribute anything they can. We are open for any donation and will be happy to receive them as well as make sure that they will reach the typhoon victims,” Rivera said.
Rebecca Magante, CSWDO chief, said they have assigned the city oval plaza’s gymnasium as the main drop-off point for donations.
The donation center will be open starting Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., she said.
Magante said residents may donate items that comprise the standard family food pack, sanitary family pack and non-food family pack.
Each family food pack contains five kilos of rice, five canned sardines, five canned beef loaf, five cup noodles, 10 sachets of 3-in-1 coffee, a pack of 200-gram milk, half kilo of sugar, a kilo of salt and half kilo of mongo.
A sanitary food pack comprises five pieces of toothbrush, a piece of family size bath soap, a piece of laundry soap, five pieces of assorted female underwear, five pieces of assorted male underwear and one bath towel.
The non-food family packs contain 10 meters of 10-millimeter nylon rope, six cup-shape vigil candles, one lighter, one family size blanket, one mosquito net, one size three rice pot or cauldron and a cut of 8×5 feet laminated canvass or tarpaulin.
Magante said relief donors may deliver their contributions to the drop-off center based on the suggested packs.
“But the donations that we will receive will not be limited to those items, which are mainly the basic requirements for the relief packs,” she added.
Aside from the local government, students and employees of the Mindanao State University campus here also launched their own relief campaign.
Sarangani Gov. Steve Chiongbian-Solon issued a memorandum encouraging provincial government employees to help gather relief donations for the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda. (MindaNews)