Gov’t preparing for rebuilding efforts

MANILA, Philippines - The government is bracing for massive rebuilding efforts in areas ravaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda as initial reports hint of devastation on a colossal scale, President Aquino said last night.

Aquino said he was
expecting the number of casualties to “substantially” increase because of the typhoon’s scale and local officials in areas caught unprepared would be made to explain.

“As you know, any casualty is an issue with me,” Aquino told reporters after a closed-door meeting at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council operations center at the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ heaquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Aquino said he did not want to make conclusive statements without getting complete data, although based on initial information, Tacloban City appeared to be the least prepared among the affected areas. It was in Tacloban City where 100 casualties have initially been reported. He is set to visit the city today.

Aquino said he greatly appreciates help from foreign governments but stressed the administration is capable of addressing the needs of the people.

Aquino said there were enough savings amounting to billions of pesos that could be tapped. He said these were the same lump sum funds, currently vilified by critics, that his office could use in times of calamities and disasters.

The President said four Cabinet secretaries – Voltaire Gazmin of the Department of National Defense, Manuel Roxas II of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Corazon Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development )DSWD) and Jericho Petilla of the Department of Energy – had been sent to assess the damage in the areas battered by Yolanda.

He said it was hard to say at the moment which areas were the most affected because of lack of information.

But he noted the DSWD had prepared a storm track to help authorities determine which localities were hardest hit and needed to be reached immediately.

The Department of Public Works and Highways is conducting clearing operations and will construct bunkhouses for affected residents in cooperation with local governments.

Air Force helicopters have been conducting aerial surveys and also delivering relief to areas presently inaccessible, Aquino said.

The President said some relief goods had been prepositioned but the devastation was on such a massive scale that make distribution of relief difficult.

He said C-130 aircraft and naval vessels were working double time to deliver relief supplies and transport personnel in cooperation with the Red Cross.