The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council yesterday pegged at P2,833,910,844 the cost of damages to national roads, bridges and flood-control structures caused by severe tropical storm "Paeng." It added that damage to agriculture was at P2,441,329,786.

Some 172 roads and 94 bridges have remained not passable following the heavy flooding and rain-induced landslides by "Paeng" which left the Philippine area of responsibility Monday.

Likewise, communication lines in 154 areas were yet to be restored while nine areas were still experiencing water supply interruption as of press time. A total of 12,968 houses were partially destroyed and 2,194 totally damaged by the typhoon.

NDRRMC spokesperson Raffy Alejandro IV said 94 deaths had been confirmed and 54 other reported deaths were under validation.

Prices of agricultural commodities have increased due to "Paeng," the Department of Agriculture reported Thursday.

DA spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista said the lower agricultural volume being delivered to trading posts across the country due to damaged roads has affected the retail prices in Metro Manila.

Price monitoring

"Based on our monitoring, the retail prices of vegetables increased by P20, P30, P40 (per kilo). The lowest was P10 (per kilo)," Evangelista said.

Price monitoring of the DA showed that the retail prices of Baguio beans ranged from P120 to P150 per kilo; cabbage, P100 to P150/kilo; calamansi, P80 to P150/kilo; carrots, P100 to P200/kilo; eggplant, P100 to P160/kilo; and pechay, P90 to P140/kilo.

Evangelista said the prices of vegetables in the wet markets would decrease once the volume of vegetables in the trading posts normalizes.

Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri said the impact of "Paeng" will be discussed during the scheduled deliberation of the P5.268-trillion budget for 2023 next week.

"'Paeng' will figure largely in our budget deliberations, once they start in the Senate next week. We will have to consult with the NDRRMC and local governments to assess our recovery roadmap," Zubiri said after heading to Mindanao to donate relief to the local governments of affected provinces and cities.

"Mindanao will be needing sustained aid after 'Paeng,'" he continued. "We're here to deliver some relief goods for now, to make sure our affected communities don't go hungry. And it is good to see so many private citizens doing the same. It really shows the heart of our people."

Zubiri underscored the need to push for long-term solutions after the death toll due to Paeng climbed to 150.

"We cannot continue to be reactive when it comes to disaster management, especially since there are lives at stake. We keep learning this the hard way. We have already lost over a hundred lives to 'Paeng,'" he stressed.

The remarks came a day after Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said the panel is open to adjusting the funding for calamity aids under the proposed 2023 national budget.

Angara said the calamity fund for the 2023 budget will be roughly P30 billion, which is larger than in past years.

"Given the increased frequency and magnitude of recent typhoons, this is appropriate," he said.

"Certainly the committee will always be open to changes that may help our people during these difficult times and which will improve the government's response to these calamities," he added.

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