LMP Ecija seeks Marcos aid for Karding-affected farmers
SAN ANTONIO, Nueva Ecija – The 27-man strong League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Nueva Ecija Chapter (LMP-NE) will seek assistance from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for those Novo Ecijano farmers affected by the onslaught of Super Typhoon Karding last Sunday.
LMP-NE President Mayor Arvin C. Salonga told the Journal Group that the idea of seeking urgent help from the President, being also the concurrent head of the Department of Agriculture is among those included in their group’s agenda and would be tackled under “Other Matters” during their second regular meeting slated to be held at Wella’s Event’s Place and Resort in Barangay Tikiw, Friday, Sept. 30. 2022.
“Malungkot ang Kapaskuhan ng ating mga magsasaka sa Nueva Ecija sapagkat mga 80 percent ng kanilang aanihin ay nasira ng Bagyong Karding. Simula nang naging tao ako, ito na yata ang pinakamalakas ng bagyo na tumama sa aming bayan ng San Antonio, kaya kaming mga alkalde ay magpupulong upang hilingin sa ating mahal ng Pangulo na tulungan ang ating mga kababayang magsasaka na nasalanta ng bagyo,” Salonga said.
Salonga said farmers in Nueva Ecija need all the help they could possibly get from the national government, especially during these very difficult times, and the LMP-NE will try to do its part to facilitate this.
He also said that Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. is scheduled to visit the town on Sunday to provide relief goods to typhoon-affected families in tandem with the municipal government, which is also providing 25 kilos of rice to each family.
Another solon set to visit this town to provide assistance is Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who will extend a total cash aid worth P2 million at P5,000 apiece to some 400 beneficiaries.
In this first-class town, some 7,816 hectares of rice lands were destroyed by “Karding”, adversely affecting 3,536 farmers, according to initial estimates by the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office.
The number of totally-damaged and partially-damaged houses here was pegged at 3,923 with an estimated cost of P24.6-million. At the same time, damages to agriculture and infrastructure have reached P308.8 million and P11.45 million, respectively, for a total of P344.8 million.
Earlier, the Nueva Ecija provincial government, through its provincial agriculturist office, reported that total damages to agriculture have so far reached P3.8-billion, prompting the declaration of a “state of emergency” in the entire province last Monday.
On Monday, the President said on his Twitter account that he made an aerial inspection of the inundated areas caused by Karding’s onslaught and also mentioned that they found Nueva Ecija and Aurora “without power and would be sending gensets (generators) now.”
