Taguig gets Ro-Ro to ferry P7-M aid to Samar and Leyte

MANILA, Philippines - The Taguig City government, in partnership with the office of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, will be delivering at least P7 million of relief items to the provinces of Eastern Samar and Leyte that were severely affected by super typhoon Yolanda.

Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano said the relief items include toiletries and medicine for the victims, while Sen. Cayetano’s office will be bringing food, water, generator sets, and water filtration units to the affected areas.

Mayor Cayetano said the relief goods will be distributed to the victims in the Eastern Samar towns of Guiuan, Mercedes, Quinapondan, Salcedo and Gen. MacArthur.

These towns were earlier assigned by the Metro Manila Commission (MMC) to Taguig for "adoption" as part of an effort by Metro Manila local government units to assist in the post-typhoon reconstruction of Samar and Leyte.

The MMC is composed of all the mayors of Metro Manila and is also the policy-making arm of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The items sent by Senator Cayetano, meanwhile, will be distributed in other parts of Samar and Leyte.

“We are all aware of how big the actual needs of the people now suffering in Visayas. We are counting on the multiplier effect of the spirit of bayanihan in all of us,” Mayor Cayetano said.

Mayor Cayetano added that on the day Yolanda made landfall in the Visayas, Taguig City put-up donation boxes at the Taguig City Hall, Taguig City University, Enderun College, Market! Market! and Slice at the Bonifacio High Street to allow city government employees as well as constituents to directly help in aiding calamity victims.

Cash donations as well as clothes and other items were collected and will be distributed during the five-day mission, said Mayor Cayetano.

“This is the Taguigenos’ way of sympathizing with our brothers and sisters affected by the calamity. We hope it would go a long way in helping them cope with everything they have experienced,” she said.

The services of a Ro-Ro (roll-on-roll-off) vessel that can carry 300 tons of cargo had been obtained for the bayanihan mission, and it is set to leave Batangas this afternoon (Friday) to ferry relief goods to Isabel in Leyte and Guiuan in Eastern Samar. The shipment will be supervised by 15 Taguig City hall employees, Mayor Cayetano said.

The Ro-Ro will also provide transportation support for evacuees or those who may wish to go to Cebu and even Batangas.

Mayor Cayetano added that Taguig will also be sending with the Ro-Ro 10 more of the city hall’s personnel and some heavy equipment to Visayas in order to aid in clearing operations of typhoon-hit areas.

“We will do all of what we can to help. What is important is that we are starting to mobilize our resources in order to respond to the distress calls of our brothers and sisters in Visayas,” said.

Earlier, the local government of Taguig has extended a donation of P1.5 million to the provincial governments of Bohol and Cebu following the recent disaster brought about by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that shook the provinces last month. 

The donation was made through a resolution passed by members of the Taguig City Council, which approved the release of P1 million as financial assistance for the province of Bohol. The P500,000 was donated to Cebu.