All roads in Bicol passable; DTI to impose price freeze

All national roads affected by super typhoon "Reming" in the Bicol region are now passable, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said yesterday.

Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. earlier ordered round-the-clock clearing operations to make all roads passable to hasten the ongoing relief and rescue operation.

"Although some sections along the Legaspi City-Sto. Domingo-Tabaco-Camarines Sur road are only passable on one lane because of electric posts that fell on the road, we already coordinated with the concerned utility company and they committed to remove the obstructions within the week," said DPWH Region V director Orlando Roces.

National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) president Arthur Aguilar said the state-owned firm is doing all it can to speed up the restoration of transmission lines. He appealed to the public though to help protect transmission line cable towers from thieves.

Ebdane said he also ordered his district engineers to require all private contractors who have business with the DPWH to send their water tanks to Legaspi City to help affected residents.

Roces said they would extend help in the ongoing relief and rescue operations in the region by providing dump trucks to be used in the delivery of relief goods.

Meanwhile, the Dinadiawan-Medalla road along Barangay Caloacan, Dipaculao section in Aurora province is now passable to all types of vehicles, according to DPWH Region III Director Ramon Aquino.

"After a few days of good weather, the flooded road sections in Aurora are now passable," Aquino said.

As rescue work continues, a planeload of emergency relief goods from the United States government arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) yesterday morning for distribution to the affected areas.

Sen. Richard Gordon, who is also chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, and US Ambassador to Manila Kristie Kenney were among the officials who welcomed the arrival of the chartered Air Almaty flight from Dubai where the US Agency for International Development has a warehouse.

The flight carried $130,000 worth of supplies that included 200 rolls of plastic sheets for shelter, 7,600 water containers and 7,000 family hygiene kits.

The donation comes on top of the $250,000 in cash earlier handed over to relief organizations giving aid to families affected by typhoon "Reming."

In an interview with reporters, Kenney expressed her condolences to the families whose loved ones perished in the mudslides wrought by the typhoon "in behalf of the government and the people of the United States."

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced yesterday that it will impose price control measures in the calamity-stricken towns.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila warned that any store found excessively increasing prices of commodities will be penalized. The DTI, he said, is working with the Bicol police to go after profiteers.

For his part, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap ordered the repair of more than P300 million worth of damaged rural infrastructure and the rehabilitation of destroyed farmlands.

Following a visit to Albay to assess the damage, Yap reported that 43,000 hectares of coconut land were destroyed. He said this means that coconut harvests for the next two years will be affected. — With Marianne Go, Rainier Allan Ronda, Donnabelle Gatdula, Sheila Crisostomo, Katherine Adraneda