The Office of the President (OP) will release P25 million financial aid to assist typhoon-affected residents in Batanes province, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Friday.

Marcos visited the typhoon-devastated areas in Basco, Batanes to determine the immediate needs of affected residents. He also led the government’s distribution of assistance in the area. 

“Ang Office of the President naman ay magre-release kami ng PHP25 million para sa inyo (The Office of the President will release PHP25 million for you),” the President said. 

Marcos also noted the commitment of the office of House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez to release P15 million cash assistance for the typhoon victims.

He said each affected household will get P10,000 cash assistance, along with 14,000 boxes of food packs and other non-food items from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). 

The DSWD also has allotted P2.78 million worth of assistance to Batanes. 

Aside from food packs from the DSWD, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) also provided 40,000 kilograms of rice to around 4,000 affected families in the province.

Marcos ordered to hasten the rebuilding of damaged houses, with the provincial government having already started distributing housing materials. 

Some 800 pieces of lumber and 800 galvanized iron sheets were also handed over to Batanes residents whose houses were destroyed during the onslaught of Typhoon Julian.

Marcos said the national government has already sent about 14,000 food packs in Batanes—with 7,000 of which have already been distributed to the affected families. 

An additional 14,000 food packs would be distributed to the typhoon victims, he added. 

“Kaya kami nandito para matignan kung ano ba talaga ang inyong pangangailangan. At mabuti na lang, bago dumating yung bagyo ay nakapagdala na kami ng libu-libo na food pack kaya pagdaan nung bagyo ay nakapag-distribute na kaagad (We are here to find out what you need. And fortunately, before the typhoon came, we had already sent thousands of food packs, so when the typhoon entered, we were able to distribute them immediately),” Marcos said.

Authorities logged around 7,088 families or 21,348 individuals who were affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Julian in Batanes province, with 23 families or 87 individuals currently sheltered in various evacuation centers. 

Batanes was among the provinces in Northern Luzon badly hit by the super typhoon. 

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported some 69,290 families, equivalent to 242,973 persons residing in 828 barangays in the Cordillera and Ilocos regions and Cagayan Valley, were affected.

At least five persons died due to the typhoon, with two of these fatalities -- one each in the Ilocos region and Cagayan Valley -- were confirmed, while the remaining three from the Ilocos region were being validated.

The damages to agriculture and infrastructure were estimated at P309.1 million and P738.1 million, respectively.