Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental
8 February 2012

President Benigno S. Aquino III visited two of the severely affected towns in Negros Oriental which had been devastated by a landslide when a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook the regions in Visayas last Monday.
In his visit to the City of Guihulngan and La Libertad Municipality, President Aquino together wih members of the Cabinet personally assessed the situation in the locality and handed out checks worth PhP 3.3-million to Guihulngan City Mayor Ernesto Reyes and PhP 1-million to La Libertad Municipal City Mayor Lawrence Limkaichong which will be distributed to families affected through DSWD’s Cash for Work financial assistance program. Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo also received PhP 5.7-million worth of check to be used as provincial assistance fund.
The Cash for Work financial assistance will pay each affected family 280 pesos per day (75% of the minimum wage) for 10 days, given that they will help rehabilitate their own barangays. Other government agencies have also presented its action plan to immediately normalize the situation in Negros Oriental.
In a briefing held in Dumaguete Airport, damage reports reveal an estimate of PhP 33-million worth of road and bridge repairs after 13 national bridges were destroyed. Department of Agriculture also reveals an estimate of PhP 56-million worth of crops and other agricultural products were lost.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) reports that the calamity has left 12,286 families affected with 137 houses destroyed in all 8 municipalities in Negros Oriental.
As of now, 25 deaths has been reported, leaving 52 injured while 82 persons are still reported missing.

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