BY VICTOR REYES and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
THE National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council yesterday said it has confirmed the death of 13 persons from typhoon “Tisoy” which exited the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday as a tropical depression.
Consolidated field reports on Wednesday showed at least 17 dead in several regions at the height of Tisoy’s onslaught on Tuesday. The NDRRMC said it was still verifying the other reported deaths.
President Duterte visited Albay yesterday and received a briefing on the effects of Tisoy.
He ordered government agencies to submit their damage assessment reports immediately to enable the national government to start the rebuilding the damaged areas.
At the briefing at the Legazpi Convention Center in Legazpi City, the President in said he was “more than satisfied” with the preparations and actions taken by government agencies. He said the only problem now is “money.”
“I am more than satisfied with the response. The question is, as always, if we have this kind of situation, after we make the assessment, evaluation… it s always money,” he said.
The President said the funds to be needed for rebuilding, “if there’s available money, we can get it from the budget office.”
The NDRRMC, in a situational report, said seven died in the Calabarzon, five in Mimaropa, and four in Eastern Visayas regions.
The report did not say the cause of death but field reports earlier said most of the victims were pinned down by fallen trees and debris, died of drowning or heart attack.
The field reports said five died in the Bicol region. It was not in the official NDRRMC list. As to why, NDRRMC spokesman Mark Timbal said, “Bicol wasn’t left out. The publication of casualties was based on the reports that had been received by our opcen (operation center.)”
Timbal said the validation process is taking time because families of the dead and wounded can claim financial assistance from the NDRRMC.
“For the dead, the families can receive P20,000, for the injured P10,000 which are taken from the (NDRRMC’s) quick response fund,” he said.
The NDRRMC has recorded 34 injured in three regions — 16 in Mimaropa, 15 in Eastern Visayas, and three in Bicol.
Almost 95,400 families from Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Eastern Visayas regions were affected by Tisoy, with some 83,900 families housed in evacuation centers.
The Department of Agriculture said damaged to agriculture in five regions (Calabarzon, Bicol, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, and Western Visayas) climbed to P1.93 billion from Wednesday’s P531.61 million.