VILLAGES IN ALBAY TOWN GET RESCUE VANS, TRUCKS

POLANGUI, ALBAY—Nineteen of the 44 villages of this town in Albay province received vehicles from the municipal government in an effort to better equip communities with transportation for evacuations during calamities.

Three of the villages each received a multipurpose truck while the 16 others were given rescue transport vans, worth P1.2 million each, that were turned over to their respective barangay captains in a ceremony on Friday.

Mayor Raymond Adrian Salceda said the vehicles would play a vital role in saving the lives of residents who would need to be immediate taken away from disaster-stricken areas.

The mayor, in an interview on Friday, said village councils were consulted and their opinion considered when basic service programs were considered by his administration.

The 19 villages were the latest to receive their respective vehicles as 22 barangays got theirs last year. The remaining three villages would get their transport allocation in the coming months, town officials said.

Catch basin

Polangui, which sits at the border of Albay and Camarines Sur provinces, suffers from floods during the rainy and typhoon seasons because its low-lying areas are water catch basin, according to Vice Mayor Cherilie Sampal.

The town, while not among the eight localities surrounding Mount Mayon, is also affected by ash fall whenever the volcano has its occasional steam-driven or phreatic eruptions, Sampal said on Friday.

Around 100,000 residents of the town would get affected each time a calamity struck, added Sampal.

Multiple uses

Aiza Recaña, chief of Barangay Apad, said the vehicle would allow them to immediately bring to safety the residents of flood-prone areas during bad weather condition.

“At least, if preemptive evacuation is ordered, we will not be waiting anymore for government vehicles and need to ride on tricycles, which is too risky on the part of the villagers, in rushing to the evacuation shelters,” Recaña said.

Alomon village chief Sonny Gregorio said their vehicle would also come useful during emergency, particularly in transporting patients to the nearest hospital.

For Nilo Saquido, village chief of Gabon, the truck would be used in keeping his village clean and green.

“Proper solid waste management is my concern and with this new truck, the collection of garbage is easy,” he said.

GOVERNMENT —PHOTO COURTESY OF POLANGUI MUNICIPAL LINE UP The 16 rescue vans and three trucks are readied at the town center for turnover to 19 villages of Polangui, Albay, on Nov. 25.