Gov’t asked to impose price caps
BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and VICTOR REYES
PRESIDENT Duterte has vowed to raise an additional P10 billion for the rehabilitation and recovery of areas devastated by typhoon “Odette,” Malacañang said yesterday.
The President made the announcement on Monday during his visit to Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental where he also witnessed the turnover of relief goods to affected families.
On Saturday, President Duterte said he would raise P2 billion to help Odette victims, and vowed another P2 billion on Sunday.
Calls for a price freeze on basic commodities in the affected areas mounted, with Senate President Vicente Sotto III saying government should act fast so that unscrupulous traders would not be able to take take advantage of the situation and further burden the affected people.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda urged the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to recommend to President Duterte the declaration of a state of calamity in several regions, which would activate an automatic price freeze of basic necessities for areas in a state of calamity.
“A declaration will then activate measures such as price controls, reprogramming of funds for repair of infrastructure, and the granting of no-interest loans by the government financial institutions,” Salceda said.
Odette, the worst to enter the Philippines this year, hit several regions over the weekend before exiting the country on Saturday. Among the worst-hit regions were Central Visayas including Bohol, Caraga, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Northern Mindanao.
Odette also left hundreds dead and affected 304,837 families or about 1.1 million individuals in the Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, and Caraga regions.
The PNP’s fatality figure remained at 375 in all the affected regions, including 170 in Central Visayas which is composed of the provinces of Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor. The PNP said 167 died in Caraga, 24 in Western Visayas, seven in Northern Mindanao, and one in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
The official count of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) increased to 156 yesterday, from 58 the previous day. It said 37 were missing and 275 were injured.
Duterte visited Negros Occidental accompanied by Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said the President provided local officials “guidance and issued several directives to national agencies to address the immediate concerns of the local governments of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.”
“President Duterte also vowed to raise additional funds, estimated at P10 billion, for the rehabilitation and recovery efforts in the typhoon-affected areas,” Nograles said.
Duterte, during his visit to Maasin in Southern Leyte last Saturday, said the government’s budget is tight but he would find money and distribute a P2-billion fund equally to the typhoon- affected areas. On Sunday, in his visit to Inabanga in Bohol, he said he would raise an additional P2 billion for the affected areas as he saw the extent of the damage in several of the affected areas.
The President conducted aerial inspections of the areas hit by Odette from Saturday to Monday.
Nograles said among the directives of Duterte during his visit to Negros was to immediately complete the construction of the Kabankalan airstrip and for the Department of Trade and Industry to look into reported price hikes of oil as well as generators.
Lopez said based on reports, standard retail prices (SRPs) for basic necessities and prime commodities are being complied with in major groceries and supermarkets.
“But there are reports on overpricing of bottled water and even gensets,” Lopez told reporters in a text message. “I have instructed our Consumer Protection Group and regional offices to immediately check the retailers and apprehend business owners who are profiteering and unduly increasing prices of consumer goods especially at this time when we are recovering from the damage caused by typhoon Odette.”
Go said Duterte ordered the Department of Trade and Industry to monitor the sudden increase in prices of goods and other essential products, which include power generators which were reportedly sold twice its usual price.
Go said Duterte is also considering the declaration of a state of calamity in areas battered by Odette “to facilitate price freeze, among others.”
TOLL
Police said the number of missing remained at 56 and the number of injured increased to 515, from 500 the other day.
The NDRRMC reported 37 missing and 275 injured.
Of the reported fatalities, the NDRRMC said 68 are in Bohol, 54 in Cebu, 17 in Negros Oriental, four in Agusan del Sur, three each in Misamis Oriental and Palawan, two in Guimaras and one each in Iloilo, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental, Negros Occidental and Butuan City.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the casualty figures released by the PNP are still subject to validation by the Department of Interior and Local Government and by the NDRRMC.
“The PNP is still considered as raw.” he said.
Citing past experience, Año said some of the deaths reported by the PNP were found to be not directly related to the typhoon.
“Each death shall be accounted and the cadaver must be found,” said Año.
He said the report of the PNP will be submitted to the NDRRMC. “The official figure will be coming from NDRRMC,” said Año.
PNP spokesman Col. Roderick Alba defended the figures released by the PNP. “The incidents are recorded in the police blotter of the PNP unit(s) and further documented and investigated,” he said.
Alba said the figures are submitted to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and are subject to validation by the OCD, DILG and Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“All PNP Units handling these data exercise due diligence and care to preclude possibilities of redundant or omitted entry that may compromise the accuracy of information,” said Alba.
APPEAL FOR HELP
Mayor Simplicia Pedrablanca of Tubajon town in Dinagat Islands appealed for help from the national government, saying their supplies are only good for a few days.
“Our food supplies are running out, maybe in a few days, maybe tomorrow (Wednesday) or the following day, it’s depleted,” Pedrablanca also said in a radio interview.
“To the national government, I hope you can send help as early as tomorrow so that our food supplies will not be depleted,” added Pedrablanca.
Pedrablanca said 80 to 90 of houses in the town have been either destroyed or damaged.
She appealed to donors to provide materials for the construction of temporary shelters.
During the Laging Handa press briefing, Surigao del Sur Gov. Alexander Pimentel said 45,043 families or 104,237 individuals were affected by Odette.
Pimentel said he has called a special session of the provincial council to place the province under a state of calamity.
He said the calamity fund of the provincial government is running low due to their response against COVID-19.
Pimentel said the devastation of Odette in the province is not that serious. He said there is no fatality in the province and one was injured. It said the typhoon damaged 227 houses.
Danilo Atienza, the provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer of Southern Leyte, said about 85 percent of the houses in Southern Leyte were either destroyed or damaged.
“Many houses were toppled down, so many people are staying in temporary shelters,” he said.
Atienza said the province so far recorded 20 deaths and seven missing.
“Its really devastating, houses were destroyed and damaged, trees were uprooted and we’re having difficulty in debris clearing operation,” said Atienza.
DAMAGE
The NDRRMC said the cost of damage to infrastructure and agriculture was pegged initially at P162 million and PP225 million, respectively.
The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) operations center said that as of noon yesterday, total damage to agriculture increased to P525 million from the previous P333.4 million.
It said this covered only Calabarzon, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Central Mindanao, Davao and Caraga.
Bulk of Odette’s currently recorded damage was from rice equivalent to P422.9 million, followed by corn at P78.9 million, high value crops at P4.6 million and fisheries at P3.4 million.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) said four areas are currently not expected to enjoy restored power connections before the end of the year including Bohol, Siargao, Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte.
NEA said restoration efforts in the areas are facing problems in communication, transportation, mobilization, availability of materials; and overall extent of damage to power assets.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said 12 of its transmission towers and more than 600 transmission poles were damaged.
As for 95 transmission facilities affected, NGCP already restored 76, leaving only 19 lines for restoration particularly in Leyte, Southern Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, Negros, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur.
As for the Department of Energy (DOE), coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard is underway to arrange permits needed for the entry of vessels carrying fuel products to provinces hit by Odette.
The DPWH estimated damage to national roads, bridges and flood-control structures at P448.9 million as of yesterday.
The DPWH has cleared and reopened 33 road sections to ensure delivery of relief goods to affected areas. Teams are working on reopening 11 national road sections that are still impassable in Regions 4-B, Region 7, 8, 10, and 13.
DPWH Quick Response Teams were working to clear closed roads in Puerto Princesa, Cebu and Negros Oriental.
In Mindanao, impassable roads are located in Misamis Oriental, Butuan City – Cagayan de Oro City – Iligan City Road, Old Mambayaan Bridge due to damaged bridge; San Jose, Dinagat Islands due to road slip; and Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur due to road cut.
TELECOMS
Telecom service restoration works in affected areas in Visayas and Mindanao were nearing completion as of yesterday, according to incumbent telcos, PLDT and Globe Telecom.
In a statement, PLDT and wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. reported that 99 percent of Mindanao fixed services and 97 percent of wireless services were up, including vital communication links in the areas of Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Norte.
In the Visayas, PLDT has restored 86 percent of wireless services and 60 percent fixed services however, customers may experience intermittent service in previously restored areas due to prolonged unavailability of commercial power and transmission lines.
PLDT and Smart technical teams were working round the clock in affected areas in Palawan, amid clearing operations and power interruptions. Additional support teams have also been flown from Manila to critical areas via PLDT’s aviation unit to augment resources on ground.
Globe Telecom said restoration efforts in the affected areas in Mindanao were nearing completion as more areas become operational such as Eastern Samar, Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Sur.
In the Visayas, certain areas remained challenged due to several damaged roads, bridges, and power lines. Globe’s network engineers on site were working to bring services back to normal.
Globe field teams were in Siargao, another hard-hit area and were putting up the needed equipment to put mobile services back.
In some parts of Palawan, particularly north of Puerto Princesa, collapsed bridges have posed delays in restoration efforts particularly hauling materials to provide temporary aerial fiber in these areas.
Globe is providing free and unlimited wireless services in select malls, government offices and airports in Visayas and Mindanao areas.
PLDT has been providing emergency load assistance, free calls,and charging stations. It also implemented a bill reprieve to help ease the burden on PLDT Home customers.
Affected customers in Visayas and Mindanao will not be required to pay for any service fees incurred during the days they experienced connectivity disruptions due to Odette.
There will be no disconnection of service due to non-payment until January next year, and the rebate will be reflected in customers’ January/February 2022 billings. — With Raymond Africa, Wendell Vigilia, Irma Isip, Myla Iglesias, and Jed Macapagal
