Lapu-Lapu City to send aid for Surigao quake victims

CEBU, Philippines - The Lapu-Lapu City government will be sending financial aid to Surigao City to help the families of those affected by the 6.7 magnitude earthquake last week.

“Every time nga naa’y mga aksidente or ingon ana nga mga panghitabo, mo-tabang gyud ta for humanitarian reasons,” Acting Lapu-Lapu City mayor Marcial Ycong said.

Ycong said he will meet with the members of the City Council and the officers of the City Social Welfare and Development Office and City Disaster Risk-Reduction Management Office to discuss how much financial assistance will they extend to the quake-hit city.

The powerful quake has taken the lives of eight people, injured hundreds, with over a thousand homes destroyed or damaged, officials said. The city has been placed under a state of calamity.

Other local government units in Cebu have already pledged to give financial aid to Surigao City.

The Mandaue City government promised to give P100,000 cash assistance, while the Cebu provincial government assured to extend P1 million in aid to the quake survivors.

In his Facebook post, Mandaue Mayor Luigi Quisumbing expressed his sympathy to the victims of Surigao earthquake and vowed that they city will help them through this solidarity effort.

In Cebu City, City Councilor Jerry Guardo is proposing to give financial aid for those affected by the quake amounting to P500,000. The proposed aid, however, has yet to be presented to the other members of the City Council for approval.

The Archdiocese of Cebu will also be extending help to the quake victims.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma appealed for donations in cash and in kind coursed through the different parishes and church-based organizations. (FREEMAN)