Hundreds of families in Taguig evacuated

MANILA, Philippines - Some 2,216 families or 9,747 residents of Taguig City have so far been rescued as of 2 p.m. Tuesday from 17 flooded barangays of the city and evacuated to 26 evacuation areas.

The rescue operations started early Monday when heavy downpour churned by the monsoon (habagat) started pounding Metro Manila.

Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano assured the city’s residents that the local government is doing its best to tend to those in flooded areas.

“They are now housed in evacuation centers set up by the city government. We want to assure everyone that the local government is on top of the situation,” she said.

According to Ronald Galicia, Taguig Rescue head, local rescuers and social welfare officials are working round-the-clock to care for the evacuees and monitor the situation in several barangays.

“At around 2 am last Monday, we already received reports of evacuation from several barangays. Taguig Rescue and the whole disaster response group have since been monitoring 24 hours to ensure the safety of our residents,” said Galicia.

Galicia added that the team also conducted roving and patrol in Barangay Southside inside the Fort Bonifacio area.

Despite heavy rains and flooding, Mayor Cayetano personally visited the evacuees and made sure that every evacuation center is well-stocked for the displaced residents.

Cayetano also visited early Tuesday morning the three pumping stations of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in Taguig to make sure that they have enough fuel to conduct anti-flood operations.

Last year, parts of Taguig was severely flooded after the pumping stations in Hagonoy, Labasan and Taguig Wawa stopped after running out of diesel fuel.

“This time we conducted inspections and made sure that there will be no shortage of fuel for the pumping stations,” Cayetano said.

“The safety of every Taguigueno has always been our priority. We are exerting numerous efforts to make sure that they are given the proper attention,” she added.

Meanwhile, according to Taguig City Social Welfare and Development Office (SWDO), there are now a total of 22 evacuation centers due to the increase of the number of people affected by the floods.

The evacuation centers are as follows:

Brgy. New Lower Bicutan - RP Cruz Elementary School and DMAC Covered Court
Brgy. Hagonoy - Hagonoy covered court
Brgy. Lower Bicutan - My House Barangay Hall
Brgy. Katuparan - Diosdado Macapagal High School
Brgy. Fort Bonifacio - Sitio 3 Health Center
Brgy. Western Bicutan - Tenement Elementary School
Brgy. Bagumbayan - CP Sta. Teresa Elementary School, Cayetano Complex and Gawad Kalinga
Maharlika Village - Maharlika Trade Center
Brgy. Ususan - Cayetano Science High School and Ususan Elementary School
Brgy. San Miguel – Serenity
Brgy. Wawa – Mormons
Brgy. Palingon-Tipas – Tipas Elementary
Brgy. Ligid-Tipas – Barangay hall and Cayetano covered court
Brgy. Ibayo-Tipas – Tipas Elementary
Brgy. Sta. Ana – Taguig Elem. School
Brgy. Calzada-Tipas – Tipas Elem. Annex
Brgy. Napindan – Napindan Elementary

Taguig Rep. Lino Cayetano also helped prepare relief goods to be distributed to flood victims, both for those in the evacuation centers and outside.

The City Social Welfare Department also made sure that every evacuee was given something warm to eat and medicine. They also provided mats and blankets along with coffee, cupcakes, biscuits and bottled waters.

In coordination with Smart Communications Inc., a “Libreng Tawag” booth was also set up in select evacuation centers to provide the people with means to communicate with their friends and relatives free of charge.

A Taguig City government medical team also provided free medical consultation and free medicines particularly to children and the elderly.

“We will continue to monitor the situation of our residents especially those in evacuation centers. We will make sure that they are provided with their needs,” Mayor Cayetano said.