Robredo sees Odette devastation everywhere in Cebu

MANILA, Philippines — After visiting Bohol on Friday, Vice President Leni Robredo was in Cebu yesterday, witnessing first-hand the devastation wrought by Typhoon Odette as she continued to assess the needs of storm victims.

“We’re in Cebu now. Signal is difficult. Devastation everywhere. Been traveling more than 2 hours already from the airport to Cebu City,” she said in an update on Twitter.

“Traffic is bad: Roads still being cleared of electric lines and posts that toppled down, and lines are long at gas & water refilling stations,” she added.

Earlier, Robredo flew to Bohol to assess how her office can assist areas affected by the typhoon.

She also joined the distribution of relief packs at an evacuation center in Tagbilaran City and met with local officials and police officers who were part of the team conducting rescue operations.

Robredo said she and her team wanted to visit an evacuation center in Loay, but was unable to do so because of the heavy flooding in many areas in the north and east of Bohol.

Among the local officials she met were Bohol Governor Arthur Yap, Vice Gov. Rene Relampagos and Tagbilaran Mayor John Geesnell Yap.

Last Friday, Robredo’s spokesman Barry Gutierrez said the Vice President will also visit other areas affected by the typhoon, including Leyte, Surigao and Negros provinces.

Robredo and fellow presidential aspirant Manny Pacquiao followed through with their commitment to pool resources to help those affected by the typhoon.

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) said Robredo sent some 800 bottles of mineral water to the united relief operations initiated by the senator, who arranged transport for the delivery of supplies to affected areas.

Several groups supporting Robredo’s candidacy also initiated respective initiatives to help those affected.

Members of the local chapter of 1Sambayan in Rizal used funds originally intended for their regular “palugaw” (porridge feeding) activities to buy relief goods for typhoon-affected Filipinos.

“We call (our initiative) ‘Kusina ng Masa,’ but since VP asked us to concentrate on relief efforts and help those in Region 6 and 7, we set aside our palugaw initiatives and allocated a budget for relief goods,” said 1Sambayan-Rizal member Gail Gianan.

Some volunteer groups in areas affected by the typhoon – including Iloilo, Cebu, Aklan and Negros provinces – have also initiated activities to help those affected, including serving hot meals in evacuation centers, according to volunteer network Robredo People’s Council.

Robredo earlier instructed her team to convert their campaign volunteer headquarters in Quezon City into a relief operations center, where donations of relief goods may be dropped off.

Her office also patnered with Tanging Yaman Foundation to accept cash donations.