The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) is appealing for help for the victims of Typhoon Odette in the Visayas and Mindanao.
PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said the Northern Mindanao Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC 10) has initiated a donation drive for typhoon victims dubbed as the “Bangon VisMin Typhoon Odette Donation Drive”.
Andanar, also Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security for Northern Mindanao, said the initiative will help send additional relief assistance to the affected families in Regions 7, 10, and Caraga.
“Tulungan po natin ang ating mga kababayang lubos na naapektuhan ng malakas na bagyo sa Visayas at Mindanao. Halos lahat tayo ay nakaranas na kung gaano kahirap kapag nasalanta ng bagyo. kahit papaano, makatulong tayo para maging merry man lang ang Christmas nila. (Let’s help our fellow Filipinos in Visayas and Mindanao. Most of us know how difficult it is to be hit by a strong typhoon. At least we can help in giving them a merry Christmas),” Andanar said in an interview over DZMM Teleradyo on Tuesday.
Citing the latest report from the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 10 (DSWD-10), Andanar said there are more than 20,000 families affected in Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), with at least 4,700 families still in evacuation centers.
DSWD-10 is currently conducting their Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA) to provide details on services needed to be turned over to affected LGUs, including the provision of family food packs, he added.
He said the PCOO is also responding to affected families in the Caraga region, including Surigao City, Siargao Islands, and Dinagat Islands that were not spared from the havoc of “Odette”.
He said electricity and communication remain difficult in these areas, while logistics for the transport of family food packs and in-kind donations are already making their routes to communities including impassable areas such as Burgos, San Isidro, and Pilar in Siargao.
Typhoon Odette, the country’s 15th tropical cyclone for 2021, made nine landfalls and left 375 people dead, 56 missing, and 500 more injured before it exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility on December 18.
Source: Philippines News Agency
