The Department of Health had allocated some P142 million in assistance for Typhoon Kristine victims, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa announced Friday. 

In a public briefing, Herbosa said that P97 million worth of medical and public health emergency supplies had already been dispatched to affected communities. 

“Of the goods that we have deployed, we have actually sent out 97 million pesos worth of medical supplies and public health emergency supplies,” he said.

Herbosa added that the remaining P36 million was designated for the deployment of water sanitation and hygiene necessities. 

“These are the blue jerry cans that we see in the evacuation centers. One can per family, and you just put one aqua tab, and it’s also potable to replace our water filtration na hindi pa dumadating to provide drinking water for our people,” he explained.

Additionally, Herbosa said the DoH also allocated P6.8 million for nutrition and P1.8 million for psychosocial support.

Since the onslaught of Severe Typhoon Kristine earlier this week, the DoH has raised a ‘Code Blue’ alert over Cagayan Valley, Bicol, and Ilocos regions amid heavy rains and flooding within communities. 

A ‘Code Blue’ serves as the DoH’s highest response to any disaster, prompting coordinated medical response efforts in most affected areas.

According to Herbosa, the Code White remained hoisted in the National Capital Region, in Central Luzon, MIMAROPA, and Western Visayas. 

The DoH reported 15 deaths due to landslides in the Bicol region, as well as numerous injuries.

“Of the recorded injuries, mostly mga wounds ito, you know, when people [are] rescued out of their homes from floods, they get injured,” he noted.

Herbosa said minor damages to medical facilities in areas affected by the typhoon were reported, noting that these have remained operational as of this press time. 

Among these partially destroyed medical facilities are the Barangay Health Station Ucab, Bunot, Bantay, and Betwagan in the Cordillera Administrative Region; the Caba District Hospital in the Ilocos region; Batangas Provincial Hospital and Magalona BHS in Calabarzon; and Bicol Medical Center and Bicol Regional Medical Center in the Bicol region.