Fire and Rescue Building, Ormoc City Airport, Leyte
July 13, 2017
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte listened to a situation briefing at the Ormoc City Airport led by National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad and asked several Cabinet secretaries about their respective departments’ accomplishments and plans for the recovery of earthquake-affected areas in Leyte province.
“I am satisfied with the reports and the actions taken. I hope that we have done something to show to the people that government is working,” said President Duterte after the briefing.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar said that his department is creating a strategy to fund the repair of the PhP 256 million damage to road and bridges in the area, while Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade discussed how DOTr enabled the immediate use of the damaged Ormoc City Airport by limiting the useable runway to 1.4 kilometers. Secretary Tugade, in cooperation with Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Benjamin Diokno and DPWH Secretary Villar, also promised to repair the damaged airport including the super typhoon Yolanda-damaged infrastructure in the Ormoc City Airport within 3 months.
Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi also presented the DOE’s plan of expediting the restoration of power in earthquake-affected areas and to have partial restoration of power by July 31, 2017. Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and National Housing Authority (NHA) General Manager Marcelino Escalada, Jr., discussed the provision of housing to those directly affected by the calamity, particularly in Ormoc City and the town of Kananga, Leyte.
Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones discussed the immediate downloading of funds to repair PhP 149 million worth of damages to 39 schools in the area. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez, meanwhile, spoke of holding the prices of commodities as well as the possible use of small business funds for disaster mitigation.
DBM Secretary Diokno added that PhP 637 million was released to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for its quick response fund.
President Duterte also announced the appointment of retired Army General Eduardo del Rosario as Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairperson during the briefing.
The intensity 7-earthquake that struck Leyte on July 6, 2017 left two people dead and 351 persons injured. An estimated 2,279 homes were damaged by the disaster with 1,582 partially damaged and 697 homes totally damaged.
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