Marce-hit Cagayan towns receive P80-M cash aid

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. on Sunday handed over P80 million in financial assistance to municipalities in Cagayan province that were battered by the onslaught of Typhoon Marce.

The national government provided P10 million in cash assistance to each of the municipalities of Aparri, Buguey, Sanchez-Mira, Santa Teresita, Baggao, Gattaran, Gonzaga, and Santa Ana.

The President handed over the cash aid to their local chief executives shortly after delivering his speech at a financial assistance distribution event in Buguey, Cagayan.

Marcos said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Department of Agriculture (DA) will continue to provide help to residents in need, as well as to those whose livelihoods were affected by the tropical cyclone.

The DSWD distributed 1,800 food packs; the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), 200 packs of 5 kg rice and 20 boxes of sardines; and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) delivered some 1,000 packs of 10 kg rice.

The DA provided P866.3 million worth of assistance to typhoon-affected farmers, including hybrid rice seeds, fertilizer discounts, vegetable seeds, native chickens, and ducks.

Marcos ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to oversee the repairs of infrastructure and schools damaged by the storm.

The national government said a total of 326,137 Family Food Packs and P130,769,647.70 in Food and Non-Food Items (FNIs) at DSWD Field Offices I and II are available for augmentation and relief assistance.

Based on the latest report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Typhoon Marce affected a total of 15,058 families in Cagayan, with 6,395 sheltered at evacuation centers and more than 3,000 families receiving aid outside the evacuation centers. One person reportedly died due to the typhoon.

The typhoon impacted some 261,787 people, or 76,622 families, in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Five municipalities in Cagayan province were flooded.

NDRRMC said some 19 towns are still experiencing power interruptions, with two bridges and a road remaining impassable.