For giving hope to Agaton victims in Leyte

BAYBAY CITY, Leyte — LAKAS-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on Friday morning visited survivors and victims of recent typhoon Agaton in Leyte.

Duterte was accompanied by her campaign managers House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez of Lakas-CMD and Davao Occidental Gov. Claude Bautista of Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), the local political group founded by the Davao City mayor.

Also with them were Mayors Jose Carlos Cari of Baybay City, Daisy Lleve of Mahaplag town and Mayor Lemuel Traya of Abuyog municipality.

Duterte visited and comforted 37 typhoon survivors confined at the Immaculate Concepcion Hospital in Baybay City.

She also paid visits to hundreds of families rendered homeless by Agataon and which are temporarily sheltered in evacuation centers in Baybay City and Municipalities of Mahaplag and Abuyog.

Duterte also visited miracle ‘kid in refrigerator’ CJ Jasme at the Immaculate Concepcion Hospital in Baybay, Leyte. CJ survived by the landslide caused by typhoon Agaton by hiding inside a refrigator for a day. His parents perished.

Duterte urged CJ to fight no matter what life throws at him.

Baybay City bore the brunt of the fury of the recent typhoon. More than 100 reportedly died from landslides and flooding.

Romualdez, who is president of Lakas-CMD, thanked Duterte for visiting his provincemates.

“The visit means a lot to us. It uplifts our people’s spirits. They are still grieving over the death of some relatives, friends or neighbors. They are still suffering from the loss of homes and livelihood,” Romualdez said.

Duterte, Romualdez and Bautista urged the concerned government agencies to extend more help to victims of typhoon Agaton.

Aside from deaths and loss of homes and livelihood, the typhoon caused extensive damage to infrastructure and agriculture.