60 barangays in Tacloban placed under state of calamity - report

MANILA, Philippines - Sixty of the 138 barangays in Tacloban City in Leyte were placed under state of calamity after the areas were battered by Typhoon Hagupit (local name: Ruby), which has weakened into a tropical storm on Monday.

A report by dzMM radio Monday evening quoted Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez as saying that members of the city council convened Monday afternoon and issued a resolution placing said villages -- where bunkhouses and tent constructed for victims of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) were destroyed --  under state of calamity.

The resolution was supported by Romualdez, according to the report.

Earlier, Catanduanes, Albay, and Camarines Sur were also placed under state of calamity after the provinces were hit by Hagupit.

Placing areas under a state of calamity will enable local government units to use the Quick Response Fund, which is part of the 2014 Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, and rehabiliate areas and provide assitance to residents affected by a weather disturbance.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC)  reported that some 259,675 families or 1,186,961 persons were affected by "Ruby" in Regions IV-A (Calabarzon), IV-B (Mimaropa), V (Bicol Region, V (Western Visayas), VII (Central Visayas), VIII (Eastern Visayas) and Caraga. Of these, some 226,605 families or 1,034,464 people were evacuated.

Around 1,953 passengers, 74 rolling cargoes, 429 vessels and four motor boats are still stranded in various ports of the country while 184 domestic flights and 24 international flights were also cancelled due to bad weather.

The airports in Legaspi, Marbate City, Marinduque, San Jose, Virac, Busuanga, Plaridel, and Puerto Princesa are  now open for operations but landing and take-off are subject to prevailing aerodrome weather conditions

Power outages were reported in 17 provinces of Regions IV-A, IV-B, V, VI and VIII, while Globe and Smart networks are currently down in some parts of Leyte and Eastern Samar.

Power has been restored in the affected areas in Romblon and in the municipalities of San Fernando, Gainza, Camaligan, Pasacao, Pamplona and Ragay, all in Camarines Sur.

NDRRMC also said that nine roads were closed to traffic due to flooding, landslide and falling trees in Regions V and VIII; while four road sections are not passable to light vehicles in Leyte and San Fernando, Romblon due to flooding; and eight road sections (five in Region V and three in Region VIII) are hardly passable due to flooding, landslides, uprooted trees and toppled electric posts.

It added that Buenavista Bridge in Barangay Lilukin, Buenavista, Quezon province is not passable due to the high level of water while four areas in Quezon province namely Pagbilao, Pitogo, Barangay Almacen in Unisan and Panaon also in Unisan were flooded.

The total cost of government assistance for the affected families in Regions V, VI, VII and Caraga has reached Php 60,718,256.50.

source: interaksyon.com

CNN's Cooper takes on Korina as netizens weigh in

MANILA, Philippines -- After ABS-CBN anchor Korina Sanchez twitted him for supposedly not knowing what he was talking about when he reported on the inadequate government response five days after super typhoon “Yolanda” struck Tacloban, CNN’s Anderson Cooper took to his show, "AC 360°" Friday morning in Manila to respond.

Social media wasted no time weighing in, with Sanchez apparently faring worse as netizens noted that she was in an air-conditioned booth as she criticized Anderson, who was on the ground in Tacloban.

On Friday, Cooper tackled the issue head-on, saying: "Miss Sanchez is welcome to go there," and suggesting that, since her husband, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II is in charge of government efforts in Tacloban, he might arrange a flight for her.





Sanchez actually went to Ormoc, on the opposite side of Leyte from Tacloban, on Thursday.

Cooper also clarified that he had never said there was no government presence or leadership on the ground.

At the same time, Cooper said that his reports were also a tribute to the strength of the Filipinos caught by Yolanda’s path.

"Filipino people, the people of Tacloban, and Samar, and Cebu, and all these places where so many have died, they are strong not just to have survived this storm, but they are strong to have survived the aftermath of this storm," he said. "They have survived for a week now, often with very little food, with very little water, with very little medical attention. Can you imagine the strength it takes to be living in a shack, to be living, sleeping on the streets next to the body of your dead children?"

Like they did earlier, netizens quickly jumped into the fray, with many praising and thanking Cooper for his coverage and others defending Sanchez who, they said, only intended to stress that government has been acting to respond to the disaster.

But even more called for an end to the bickering and for everyone to focus on helping the victims instead.

storify.com/interaksyon/netizens-still-riled-up-over-korina-sanchez-but-so?utm_source=embed_header

source: interaksyon.com