News Roundup 18 December 2021
Dec 18, 2021 • 4 min Read
Agencies may request for quick response funds for ‘Odette’ victims — DBM | PHILSTAR.COM – Agencies assisting areas affected by Typhoon Odette may ask for additional quick response funds (QRF) if necessary, the budget department said. During a briefing on the effects of Odette last Friday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he spoke with the director of his agency’s regional office in Cebu and learned that some health facilities had lost their roofs. He said the rebuilding of the facilities should start as soon as the risk becomes less so they can provide services to the affected communities. Authorities are assessing the damage to the health facilities in the typhoon-hit regions, the health chief added. “And I’d like to know if we can already directly submit to DBM (Department of Budget and Management) the required budget for repairs so that we can already work on this immediately,” Duque said. Budget Undersecretary Kim Robert de Leon, who was present during the meeting, said agencies like the health, agriculture, education, public works, and social welfare departments and the Office of Civil Defense have built-in quick response funds. “They can immediately tap the same and utilize the same and once it’s already depleted, they can just send to us the request for replenishment of the QRF, which we will be charging from the remaining balance of the NDRRM (national Disaster risk reduction and management) fund for 2021,” De Leon said. Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is gathering information about the extent of the damage caused by the typhoon. The council is also expected to submit its damage assessment and recommendations to the Office of the President. “But in the meantime, the DBM is right in saying that the different departments have QRF they can use. Then in the meantime, if our local government units need to declare a state of calamity locally, they have the right to do so,” Nograles said.
‘Aayusin natin’: Robredo vows aid to displaced locals in ‘Odette’-hit Cebu | Manila Bulletin – Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday, Dec. 18, promised residents displaced by typhoon “Odette” in Cebu City that she–together with local officials–will find a way how they can return to their homes. Robredo visited the local Guadalupe Barangay Hall, where she was greeted with applause by evacuees upon arrival. She first visited Bohol, which was also ravaged by Odette, on Friday. In a video posted by on her YouTube channel, Robredo was seen checking up on the evacuees and asking how they were doing. “Wala na po kaming bahay, ma’am (We don’t have a house anymore, ma’am),” one resident from Barangay Guadalupe told Robredo. The evacuees told the opposition standard-bearer that “almost all” of their houses were destroyed by the typhoon. “Aayusin lang natin kung paano natin ipapagawa (We will just plan on how we can rebuild them),” Robredo said. “Pag-usapin natin kung ano ang gagawin (Let’s discuss what we will do next).” In a Facebook post, Robredo recalled her conversation with some of the 800 families whose houses were pummelled by the typhoon. “Pinapakita nila sa amin ‘yung mga pictures ng mga bahay nilang nasira (They were showing us the photos of their damaged houses),” she said. “Nakakadurog ng puso pakinggan ang mga kuwento ng mga nawalan ng bahay (It crushes my heart to listen to the stories of those who lost their houses),” she added. Apart from Guadalupe, the Vice President also visited an evacuation center in Barangay Sapangdaku, where she was accompanied by former Interior undersecretary Bimbo Fernandez. Her team stayed behind in Cebu to continue its relief operations. “Dahil walang kuryente, apektado ang drinking water nila. Kaya malaki ang pangangailangan (Because there is no electricity, their drinking water is affected. So they have big needs),” she said. “Ngayon nagbibigay tayo ng mga pagkain but after nito, ang poproblemahin nila ‘yung mga pampagawa ng kanilang mga bahay. Pagtutulong tulungan natin ito (Now we are providing food but after this, their problem is to repair their houses. Let us help each other),” Robredo added.
PH logs 291 new COVID-19 infections, active cases down to 9,000 | INQUIRER.NET – The Philippines on Saturday recorded 291 new COVID-19 cases to bring the country’s caseload to 2,837,555, the Department of Health (DOH) reported. The DOH said that of the 291 new reported cases, 260 or 89 percent were recorded in the recent 14 days (December 5-18). Of the total caseload, only 9,924 or 0.3 percent of infections are still tagged as active cases. Of these, 43.9 percent have mild or no symptoms. Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries is now at 2,776,956, or 97.9 percent of all cases after 523 new COVID-19 recoveries were reported. There are also 106 new deaths due to COVID-19 to bring the total death toll to 50,675, which is 1.79 percent of all cases. The DOH noted that 187 cases — all recoveries — were found to have tested negative and have since been removed from the total case tally, while 97 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.
