News Roundup 04 November 2020
Nov 04, 2020 • 4 min Read
Signal No. 1 up over Cagayan, Babuyan Islands with ‘Siony’ now a severe tropical storm | PHILSTAR.COM – PAGASA on Wednesday said Tropical Storm Siony has intensified into a severe tropical storm with a landfall still possible despite forecasts that it will leave the country by November 6. In its latest weather bulletin, the agency said “Siony” was last seen at 735 kilometers east of Basco in Batanes as it moves northward slowly. It now carries 95 kilometers per hour maximum sustained winds and gusts of up to 115 kph, but could still intensify into a typhoon and may reach its peak of 125 kph. PAGASA said the chances of “Siony” making landfall over Batanes and Babuyan Islands remain likely, with strong winds in the next 24 hours in the said areas due to the northeasterlies enhanced by “Siony” and Tropical Storm Rolly. “Siony”‘s extension as well as the northeasterlies is seen to bring light to moderate with ocassional heavy rains over Bicol Region, Aurora, Quezon — areas badly hit by Rolly as a super typhoon — as well as Cagayan and Isabela.
Use anti-communist task force funds for storm aid – senators | INQUIRER.NET – Opposition senators on Tuesday said a large chunk of the proposed budget for a government agency that had been gaining a reputation for branding progressive lawmakers, activists and administration critics as communists and enemies of the state would be better spent for victims of the recent destructive typhoon. About P16 billion of the P19-billion 2021 budget for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) was allocated for the development of 800 barangays around the country that had been “freed” of communist rebel influence. According to Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the anti-insurgency fund, which had been criticized by some senators as “pork-barrel-like” and prone to abuse, should instead be used for relief and rehabilitation of areas badly hit by Typhoon “Rolly” (international name: Goni). “During these times of calamities, our people in Bicolandia and other areas are in dire need of the millions of [pesos] from the government. It is clear that the billions earmarked for the NTF-Elcac would be better spent on helping Filipinos battered by the typhoon get back on their feet,” she said.
Drilon backs proposal to realign P19-B NTF-ELCAC fund for disaster aid efforts | Manila Bulletin – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon backs the proposal to realign the P19-billion proposed fund for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, including the P16.4-billion fund to be distributed to 820 insurgency-free communities, to fund disaster aid efforts, especially in typhoon-stricken provinces in the Bicol region and Regions 4-A and B. “I strongly support the proposal. Instead of using P19-billion to fund soft projects that are prone to corruption such as agricultural assistance, livelihood and technical vocational trainings, scholarship, and assistance to indigent individual or families, the funds should go directly to our ‘kababayans’ (countrymen) devastated by the recent typhoons,” Drilon said. “Let us divert this huge lump sum amount to disaster relief programs to help rebuild lives and communities in the typhoon-hit areas,” he added. Drilon said the move would help ease suspicions the funds would be distributed “in aid of the 2022 elections.” “We need to rebuild thousands of houses damaged by typhoons. We need all the funds we can get to assist our people pleading for help and help them get back on their feet,” he stressed.
Leni: ‘Rolly’ victims hope to rebuild homes soon | Malaya Business Insight – Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday gave voice to the need of calamity victims in the Bicol Region to start rebuilding their homes even as the region is still coming to grips with the extent of devastation caused by super typhoon “Rolly.” Surveying wrecked homes and fallen structures from Tagkawayan, Quezon all the way to Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) Repacking Center in Naga City in Camarines Sur, Robredo said coastal communities bore the brunt of the storm winds, with very few houses left standing. During the distribution of relief goods hauled by her team from Manila, she heard the appeal of displaced families in evacuation centers and those who chose to remain in their homes when the typhoon made landfall. “I visited a small coastal village nearby and saw that majority of the houses were ravaged to the ground. I got to talk to the owners of the houses. They were complaining that nipa shingles cost too much now. That plus the coco lumber they would need to rebuild,” Robredo said. She lamented that because of the wide swath of Rolly’s destruction, the cost of funding such reconstruction would be prohibitive. “If only we have enough resources, it would be best to help them rebuild better so that they wouldn’t have to relive the horrors every time there is a typhoon,” she said.
