The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) has recommended that the province be placed under a state of calamity because of the devastation caused by Typhoon Ursula.
Antique PDRRM officer Broderick Train said in an interview on Dec. 30, 2019 that they had an emergency meeting right after the Rizal Day wreath-laying ceremony, considering that three municipalities have already declared a state of calamity.
“The PDRRMC has passed a resolution recommending to the Antique provincial board the declaration of the state of calamity,” he said.
Train said the municipalities of Libertad, Pandan and Caluya have declared state of calamity and the provincial government is also considering the same declaration to be able to utilize its calamity fund to assist them.
Based on the data of the Antique Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, there are 71 barangays from Libertad, Pandan, Caluya and Sebaste towns that had been severely hit by Ursula, affecting 14,118 families or 94,002 persons. Sebaste has not yet been placed under a state of calamity.
There are 1,709 totally damaged houses and 11,799 partially damaged houses from the said four towns.
Meanwhile, Libertad Mayor Mary Jean Te said in a phone interview that as of Monday, there is no fuel at the lone gas station in their municipality.
“We only have one gasoline station in the town and it has no more fuel to sell to the residents,” she said.
Te said her constituents have to buy fuel in the nearby town of Pandan, which is 28 kilometers away.
She said there has been no electricity in Libertad since the typhoon hit their town on Dec. 25, when around 100 electric posts were toppled by strong winds.
“I learned that it would take about a month for the electricity to return,” she said.
Train said Pandan and Caluya also have no power supply yet.PNA
