Kidapawan council OKs P100 million loan bid for quake rehab

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines —The Kidapawan City council approved a resolution on Monday authorizing Mayor Joseph Evangelista to apply for a loan of P100 million to be used for the rehabilitation of earthquake-hit areas in the city.

The resolution also approved the creation of an interim group to study socio-economic interventions to hasten the recovery of affected villages. 

Kidapawan is under a state of calamity due to the damage caused by three powerful quakes, which struck parts of Mindanao last month.

Many infrastructure facilities, including school buildings, and houses were destroyed.

Subsistence allowance

Meanwhile, members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) are donating their subsistence allowance for one day to quake victims in Mindanao.

PSG personnel recently brought relief goods for residents of Makilala town in North Cotabato.

As this developed, the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) said soldiers of the 39th Infantry Battalion were pulled out from relief operations and redeployed in Makilala to assist the local Risk Reduction and Management Council in fixing the tents at evacuation centers that either collapsed or were destroyed during heavy rains and hailstorm on Monday. 

The Eastmincom is overseeing disaster response through the Humanitarian and Disaster Response Task Force of the 10th Infantry Division.