TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines – Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba on Sunday, November 6, said the province needs a Yolanda-like rehabilitation plan to cope with the damage brought by Super Typhoon Lawin (Haima) last month.
In a press release, provincial information officer Rogie Sending quoted Mamba as saying that despite the much lower casualty count from Lawin compared to 2013's Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), Cagayan "obviously" suffered heavily in agriculture and infrastructure.
"Ayon sa gobernador na malinaw na libo-libong Cagayano ngayon ang wala nang bahay at kabuhayan kung kaya't malaking tulong kung magbaba ng tulong ang national government mula sa P150 billion na calamity fund nito para [sa] rehab plan sa Cagayan," Sending said.
(According to the governor, it's clear that thousands of Cagayan residents no longer have homes and livelihood so it would be of great help if the national government would allocate to us a portion of the calamity fund for the rehabilitation of Cagayan.)
Mamba said the rehabilitation plan would include temporary jobs for farmers who would be unable to harvest crops for the next several months.
The provincial government also plans to tap typhoon survivors as workers when the reconstruction of public infrastructure begins.
"Umaasa si Governor Mamba na makikita ng pambansang gobyerno ang pangangailangan ng rehab plan lalo at sadyang hindi sapat ang calamity fund ng probinsiya at mga lokal na pamahalaan kung ibabatay sa pinsalang iniwan ng pinakamalakas na bagyomg tumama sa Lambak Cagayan sa kasaysayan," Sending added.
(Governor Mamba is hoping that the national government will see the need for a rehabilitation plan, especially since the calamity fund of the province and the municipalities are not enough, based on the damage brought by the strongest typhoon ever to hit Cagayan Valley.)
The Cagayan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) said the overall damage to agriculture is pegged at P5,746,052,600. The following were affected by Lawin:
- P5,036,930,000 worth of rice crops
- P498,876,950 worth of corn crops
- P143,632,500 worth of high-value commercial vegetable crops
- P66,613,550 worth of fisheries
Lawin also left P2,821,680,600 worth of damage to classrooms, offices, district hospitals, the provincial capitol, sports facilities, provincial roads, and bridges.
The cost of damage to infrastructure does not include more than 25,000 totally damaged houses and 93,834 partially damaged houses. – Rappler.com