DAVAO CITY — Two provinces in Davao region hit by floods and landslides have received needed aid from the Office of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian in the form of rice which was distributed recently.

The senator turned over to Davao de Oro — at least 3,400 sacks of rice worth P4.25 million and also gave Davao Oriental 5,600 sacks of rice worth P7 million, stressing that it is just the first batch of assistance coming from his office.

He also provided 3,800 sacks of rice worth P4.75 million to Agusan del Sur.

“It has been a tradition for us to extend help to the disaster-stricken provinces. We can send more if they still need assistance,” Gatchalian said.

The lawmaker flew to the affected municipalities in the three provinces and distributed 12,800 sacks of rice worth P16 million to flood and landslide victims as he cited that there is a need for local government units to improve their respective disaster preparedness programs.

He stressed that disaster-mitigation efforts would be greatly improved if LGUs have necessary funds to provide local infrastructure projects to protect their localities against natural disasters.

Gatchalian also said that by enabling LGUs to have their own funds for disaster preparedness, they would be able to fund infrastructure projects designed to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, pay for obligations incurred in funding projects related to disaster preparedness and mitigation and hire necessary personnel required to implement disaster risk reduction and management programs.