Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday personally led the distribution of relief goods for residents of Bulacan and Pampanga affected by heavy floods in the wake of super typhoon Egay, typhoon Falcon and the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat).
“Matinding hamon po sa buhay at kabuhayan ang hinaharap ng mga residente mula sa Bulacan, Pampanga at iba pang lugar na sinalanta ng bagyo at baha. Umaasa tayo na ang aming paunang ayuda ay makakatulong sa ating mga kababayan na bumangon at magsimula muli,” Hontiveros said.
In Bulacan, Hontiveros was accompanied by Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando, Calumpit town Mayor Glorime Faustino, and Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD) Region 3 Director Jonathan Dirain in distributing relief goods to an initial batch of 1,000 families in the town of Calumpit – where flood waters have yet to recede and remains accessible only by boat and elevated vehicle.
In Pampanga, Hontiveros visited the towns of Macabebe and Masantol to meet local leaders and residents and spearheaded the provision of government relief goods to an initial batch of 1,000 families staying in evacuation centers. The senator was accompanied by Macabebe Mayor Leonardo Flores, and Masantol Mayor Jose Antonio Bustos II, respectively.
“Matinding pinsala o catastrophic damage ang hinaharap ng ating mga kababayan dahil sa nagdaang mga bagyo, lalo na sa mga nasalantang pananim. Sa lalawigan ng Bulacan pa lang, kalahating bilyong piso na halaga ng ari-arian ang nasira. Kaya magpapatuloy po ang ating pag-ikot at pag-hatid ng ayuda para sa mga kababayan sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa na lubos na nangangailangan ng tulong,” she stressed.
Hontiveros then said that she will continue to work with the DSWD and the local governments of Bulacan and Pampanga for the steady delivery of relief packages in other flood-hit areas of the two provinces in the coming days and weeks. Likewise, Hontiveros said that she will be cooperating with private sector partners to provide relief goods to areas in Bataan and Tarlac which have been also battered by recent floods.
According to the senator, the severe floods and rains have also impacted the accessibility of essential health services, especially for vulnerable individuals like children and senior citizens. To help address this, Hontiveros said she is working on reactivating her “Healthy Pinas” mobile clinic program – which has provided free medical services such as X-Ray, ultrasound and blood tests to hundreds of thousands of patients nationwide – once floods have subsided.
“Kasama ng agarang ayuda para sa kalusugan at kabuhayan ng mga pamilyang apektado ng pagbaha at bagyo, dapat pagtuunan din natin ng pansin ang long-term solutions sa isyu ng disaster preparedness at climate change adaptation. Tututukan natin sa Senado ang mga reporma na kailangan para mabawasan ang dagok sa mamamayan ng matinding ulan at bagyo na hatid ng global climate change,” Hontiveros concluded.
