City Hall to aid LGUs affected by Taal Volcano eruption

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

The Iloilo City government will extend financial assistance to local government units (LGUs) in Luzon that were affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said he already instructed the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) to identify the LGUs that need help and assess the amount of assistance required.

“Ginapaka-assess ko pa kay CDRRMO Head Donna Magno kon pila ihatag ta kag para mabal-an naton ang mga gakahinanglan sang bulig,” he said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

The mayor said they aim to release the financial assistance before Dinagyang Festival 2020 in the last week of January.

One of the challenges, according to the mayor, is to secure a quorum during the CDRRMC meeting.

“Gatarget gani kita makapadala before Dinagyang pero lantawon ta, ang problema ta ang CDRRMC dako nga body daw 60 plus ang composition, amo na mabudlay kita magkuha sa quorum kon may meeting. But we will set an emergency meeting as soon as possible,” he said.

Treñas said he is also planning to give out N95 masks to affected residents.

As the city celebrates Dinagyang Festival in honor of Señor Sto. Niño, the mayor assured that the city government will extend help to the people affected by the eruption of Taal.

“We should never forget ang mga tawo didto sa Batangas and sa iban pa nga probinsya nga naigo sang kalamidad and we should always have in mind nga mabulig kita sa aton masarangan while at the same time ga-celebrate kita sang Dinagyang,” he emphasized.

Recently, the city government also prepared around P4.2 million worth of financial assistance to LGUs in Western Visayas that were severely hit by Typhoon Ursula (international name: Phanfone) last December.

CDRRMC has approved the P4.2 million cash assistance to 14 LGUs.