MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino will visit areas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda today but he did not say how long he will be there; he only called for more volunteers to pack relief goods.
The President might stay for a week in the Visayas but the Palace would not confirm this. He stayed in Zamboanga City when it was under siege and in Bohol when an earthquake struck the province.
Aquino will be directly in charge of relief operations that will go with retrieval and burial of bodies.
The President visited relief centers Thursday night and thanked the volunteers.
Aquino also told volunteers that if they are feeling tired, they would just have to remember the families in disaster-hit areas who could no longer be taken care of by local officials, particularly the barangays.
“One of them (local official) told me when I visited (on Nov. 10) that they could really no longer take charge and they would have to pass everything (to us),†the President admitted.
He said the number of affected families has reached 275,000 or about 1.3 million survivors. A food pack is only good for two days for a family and about 140,000 food packs are needed each day.
“Our fellowmen must really feel that they are not being neglected, (we have to) ease the tension (so they will not be) desperate,“ he added.
The President stressed that without volunteers, the availability and distribution of relief packs would be slow and any delay could mean more suffering for the survivors. He asked volunteers to invite their friends to join them, especially this weekend.
He also noted that there are no goods to buy in areas affected most by Yolanda and things would still have to be transported there. By sea, it would take at least two days before the goods can be delivered.
Aquino said he is bent on expediting the delivery of relief goods and addressing the basic needs of the people so they could start the rehabilitation and rebuilding efforts since many of them lost their homes.
“Once we build all the houses, we will help each other with that, and we are not just talking about months with the number of people affected,†he added.
Aquino said Yolanda destroyed more than 100 transmission towers in Luzon and the Visayas and it would take at least two months before they could be fully restored. In some areas, electricity could be back by Dec. 15.
Given the difficulties, he acknowledged the need to step up efforts so people would not grow even more desperate.
The President said he regrets that it would be a sad Christmas for the survivors.