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MAYON EVACUEES GET P33-M AID

June 12, 2023 Ryan Ponce Pacpaco 168 views

SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Tingog Party-list have facilitated the release of a total of P33 million worth of assistance to the province of Albay — in cash and in kind — amid the rumblings of Mayon Volcano that has forced the evacuation of residents living in the permanent danger zone.

Romualdez and Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude Acidre yesterday said the P1 million worth of assistance was allocated to each of the three districts of Albay.

These affected areas are the first district, under Rep. Edcel Lagman; second district, under Rep. Joey Salceda; and third district, under Rep. Fernando Cabredo.

The assistance from the Speaker’s office will be coursed through their respective offices.

“The members of the House are one with the people of Albay during this challenging time. Mayon Volcano’s eruption is something that we cannot stop, but so is showing malasakit to our countrymen when difficulties arise. Together, we will ride out this calamity,” said Romualdez, Leyte’s first district representative.

The P1 million assistance for each of the districts is broken down into P500,000 in cash and P500,000 worth of relief packs from Speaker Romualdez’s personal disaster response fund.

Before dawn yesterday, hundreds of volunteers trooped to PureGold-Embarkadero in Legazpi, Albay to repack and prepare relief goods for the displaced families.

About 1,420 relief packs for each district were readied for distribution.

On top of this, the Speaker’s office coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under Secretary Rex Gatchalian so that P10 million worth of assistance would be released to each district through the agency’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program.

“We expect this assistance from the DSWD, along with our humble contribution, to ease the worries that our kababayans in Albay may have for the immediate future. Nakahanda po kaming tumugon sa mga pangangailangan ninyo, kahit na magtagal ang kalamidad na ito,” the Speaker said.

According to the House leader, the P500,000 cash assistance will be turned over to each of the three districts on Monday.

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