MANILA, Philippines — The entire Luzon recently hit hard by strong typhoons that submerged provinces and left millions affected was officially placed under a state of calamity on Wednesday.
Two typhoons — Quinta and Ulysses, as well as Super Typhoon Rolly, ravaged the island in a short period of time from end-October to the middle of this month, leaving regions such as Bicol and Cagayan reeling from the damage.
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President Rodrigo Duterte's Wednesday declaration will "hasten the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts" of government and private groups as well as control the price of basic goods in typhoon-hit areas.
It will also allow local governments to tap funds for rescue and rebuilding efforts, as well as continue giving basic services to those affected.
"All departments and other concerned government agencies are hereby directed to implement and execute rescue, recovery, relief and rehabilitation work in accordance with pertinent operational plans and directives," read Presidential Proclamation no. 1051.
State forces and other law enforcement agencies were also tasked to ensure peace and order in the areas affected. The state of calamity, the proclamation added, will remain in effect until lifted by Duterte.
Figures by the NDRRMC by Wednesday showed that the cost of Ulysses' damage has reached P5.7 billion for infrastructure and P2.8 billion.
It has affected over 3.4 million individuals and left more than 223,000 still in evacuation shelters, while the death count is at 73, 24 injured and 19 missing.
Rolly, meanwhile, the world's strongest storm this 2020, had about P12.8 billion in damage to infrastructure and P5 billion to crops. Its casualties were put at 25, with nearly 400 injured and six missing.
Quinta was responsible for 27 deaths, 40 injured and four missing, with damage to infrastructure at over P1 billion and agriculture at P2.6 billion.
Duterte had since formed a multi-agency task force led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea that would oversee rehabilitation efforts in the said areas.
The administration's response to these calamities had met criticism, so much that it had taken airtime in Duterte's weekly addresses.
Tensions between the president and Vice President Leni Robredo had since escalated, with Duterte erroneously claiming that it was Robredo who sought for his whereabouts amid the storms despite the calls coming from the public.
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As the Philippine leader was lashing out on Robredo's response to the typhoons in last night's address, the vice president took to Twitter to respond to the allegations, calling him out for falling for false information as well as for his misogynistic remarks.
"There is no space for our ego when lives are at stake," Robredo wrote on the social media platform. "Sa panahon ng matinding sakuna, dapat lahat ng tulong, welcome. Hindi ito contest. Hindi tayo nag uunahan."