KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/20 November) — The city government is considering forging sisterhood relations with the municipality of Santa Fe in Leyte province as it moves to help the area recover from the devastation wrought by super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan).
Cyrus Urbano, action officer of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DCRRMC), said in an advisory that City Mayor Peter Miguel has proposed for the sisterhood tie-up to further accelerate the city government’s ongoing relief and recovery efforts in Santa Fe.
Miguel, a doctor, is currently leading a relief and medical mission in the town, which was among the areas hardest hit by the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda last November 8.
Santa Fe, which is located in the western part of Leyte province and south of Tacloban City, is a fifth class municipality and has 20 barangays. It has a total population of 17,427 based on the 2010 census.
A 28-person team led by Mayor Miguel left for Leyte province last Sunday to augment the ongoing relief efforts in the area.
Urbano said the team, which is composed of medical and social workers, has set up an operations center infront of the municipal hall of Santa Fe on Monday.
“It is almost likened to a medical clinic doing medical consultations/treatment, stress deb
riefings and dispensing of medicines,” he said.
On Tuesday, Urbano said the group treated a total of 775 patients who suffered some injuries, specifically wounds, at the height of the typhoon.
“Residents are thankful of our medical team’s presence and (today) they will do home visits for medical consultations and stress debriefing sessions,” he noted.
The policemen and security volunteers who accompanied the team assisted in the clearing operations in the area, he said.
Urbano said the city government will be sending an additional relief donations to the typhoon-affected areas on Wednesday through a Philippine Navy vessel that is currently loading relief goods at the Makar wharf in General Santos City.
The relief goods comprise 194 sacks of assorted clothing and food packs, 55 boxes of mineral water, and 10 boxes of multivitamins and antibiotic medicine, he said.
He added that the shipment is in addition to the truckload of family food packs that was sent by the local government through a C-130 aircraft of the Philippine Air Force that loaded relief goods at the General Santos City international airport last Saturday. (MindaNews)
