DAVAO CITY—The city government has extended financial assistance to flood victims in different areas in Mindanao.
On Tuesday, the 18th City Council approved through suspended rules the allocation of P2.2 million to be distributed to nine different towns and cities affected by flooding due to heavy rains last week.
The municipalities of Jabonga in Agusan del Norte, Talacogon and Loreto in Agusan del Sur, Lagonglong and Lugait in Misamis Oriental, Boston and Cateel in Davao Oriental, Malita in Davao Occidental, and Cagayan de Oro City will each receive P250,000.
Mayor Sara Duterte requested the council to immediately respond to Davao’s neighboring municipalities with the financial aid, taken from the city’s Quick Response Fund.
According to Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, Committee of Finance, Ways and Means chairman, it has been Davao’s tradition to extend assistance to different areas affected by calamities.
“The amount came from the remaining P98.6 million of the Quick Response Fund for this year, which is only 30 percent of the entire Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund,” Dayanghirang said.
For the entire year, Davao has a total budget of P340.4 million for the DRRM Fund, with P102.1 million allocated for the Quick Response Fund.
“Because the city is seldom hit by typhoons, we usually extend assistance to those who were devastated by calamities. They just have to declare they are under the state of calamity,” the councilor said.
On Saturday, Davao also sent 5,000 food packs to Cagayan de Oro to help families there who suffered from the recent floods. Central 911 chief Emmanuel Jaldon personally brought the packs to CDO.
“We used 5 trucks to deliver the goods last Saturday and it was handed to the LGU of Cagayan (de Oro). We used the logistic vehicle of the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council and four trucks from the City Engineer (Office),” Jaldon said.
Earlier, Davao handed out P3.5 million to the victims of Typhoon “Nina” in the provinces of Quezon, Batangas and Marinduque.