Catarman typhoon victims get assistance
AFTER Typhoon “Bising” ripped through parts of Northern Samar the previous week, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Wednesday sent his team to distressed areas to work with local and national partners in assisting residents displaced by torrential rains and storm surges.
“Mga kababayan, patuloy pong umiikot ang aking opisina para sa mga tinamaan ng baha dahil para sa amin walang tulog dapat ang serbisyo, kahit bente kwatro oras kaming magtrabaho. Wala kaming piling araw para puntahan kayo para magbigay ng tulong o solusyon sa inyong mga problema at mag-iwan ng kaunting ngiti sa panahon ng inyong pagdadalamhati (My countrymen, my office personnel continue to go around to help flood victims. We work 24/7 to provide help or solution to your problems and leave behind a smile at a time of your distress),” Go said in a video message.
The senator’s team handed out meals, food packs, vitamins, masks and face shields to a total of 332 residents at the Catarman municipal gym.
To ensure everyone’s wellbeing, beneficiaries were divided into smaller batches while adhering to the required health and safety protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Selected residents were also given new shoes while others received bicycles to access locations with ease. Others were provided computer tablets for educational activities under blended learning set-up.
As part of the national government’s response to the calamity, personnel from the DSWD also provided each beneficiary with separate financial assistance and food packs.
Go, in his message, further offered to assist any resident with health concerns. He strongly advised those who cannot afford medical care to apply for government assistance at the Malasakit Center located at the Northern Samar Provincial
Hospital in the said town.
The center is a one-stop shop initiated and authored into law by Go where poor patients may conveniently seek medical assistance from the Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
Go also reiterated his call for a unified department that can address the country’s disaster management issues. In 2019, he filed Senate Bill No. 205, otherwise known as ‘the Department of Disaster Resilience Act’, which seeks to create an empowered, responsive and highly specialized agency with a clear unity of command that will be responsible for ensuring adaptive, disaster-resilient and safe communities.
The department shall concentrate on three key result areas, namely: disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness and response and recovery.
“Madalas pong tamaan ng bagyo, lindol at iba pang kalamidad ang ating bansa. Kailangan na nating i-scale-up ang preparedness to resilience against disasters. Napapanahon na na magkaroon tayo ng ating sariling departamento na may secretary-level or overall-incharge tuwing may krisis o sakuna (Our country is frequently hit by typhoon, earthquake and other calamities. We need to scale-up our preparedness to resiliency against disasters. It is time for us to have our own department with a secretary-level or overall-in-charge that will lead whenever there is a crisis or disaster),” said Go.
Concluding his message, the senator expressed gratitude for the efforts of the public officials to address the immediate needs of the affected communities.
Among those present during the activity were Gov. Edwin Ongchuan, Vice Gov. Gary Lavin, First District Rep. Paul Daza, Mayor Francisco C. Rosales and Vice Mayor Clarissa Bonsol.