In spirit of sympathy, courts' Christmas lights to be shut off; aid readied for affected personnel
MANILA, Philippines — In the spirit of sympathy, Christmas lights in courts nationwide will be turned off and calamity aid has been readied for affected personnel due to Typhoon Odette, the Supreme Court said.
“In sympathy and in the spirit of the season, the Justices have decided to turn off all Christmas lights in all courts nationwide and in their official residences in Baguio City, until power supply is restored in the typhoon-affected areas,” the SC said in a statement on Wednesday.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in its latest report said 239 localities reported power outages or interruption due to the powerful typhoon.
Of these, power supply has been restored in 34 cities or municipalities, leaving nearly 200 localities still without electricity.
The SC also assured court personnel, including those who volunteered to assist in the localized Bar examinations in January, that it is monitoring their situation.
“The Chief Justice has approved the release of calamity assistance to affected court personnel. All members of the Court have, on their own and as a group, made donations or helped out in the relief efforts,” the high court said.
“This is a season for compassion and kindness, for reaching out and sharing as much as we can to ease the suffering of others. Without empathy, there can be no justice,” it added.
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo has earlier instructed the Office of the Court Administrator to temporarily suspend the period of filing for pleadings and submissions in affected courts from December 20, 2021 to January 3, 2022.
Period for filing that fell due or would fall due in the said period are extended for seven calendar days or up to Jan. 10, 2022.
This move was in consideration of the "extensive damage to government infrastructure and private property, including a number of halls of justice, as well as the severe disruption of power and communication services," the OCA added.
PAGASA says severe tropical storm Rai entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility at around 7 p.m. Tuesday. It was assigned the local name Odette.
Telco giant Globe has completed network service repairs in municipalities of Anda, Dauis, Loon and Panglao in Bohol, San Fernando in Cebu, and Baybay, Albuera in Leyte, and Limasawa in Southern Leyte.
Services in Mindanao's Tagana-an, Surigao del Norte have also been restored as of January 4.
Globe says it has equipped local government units affected by Super Typhoon Odette with an M360 platform, used to send SMS updates to their offices and constituencies. "Palawan, Southern Leyte, and Cebu municipalities Naga, Cordova and the city of Mandaue, were among the first to avail of this free service," the telco says in a release.
Network coverage has been restored in 98% of areas with PLDT and Smart coverage in Bacolod.
The telco group says in a release that network services have been restored in 90% of Visayas cities and municipalities affected by Super Typhoon Odette.
Earlier, PLDT-Smart reported the full restoration of services in Antique, Iloilo, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Western Samar.
The Technical Education and Skils Development Authority in the Cordillera is sending 19 trainers to Bohol, one of the provinces that was hit hard by Super Typhoon Odette last December.
The trainers will help in the recovery and rebuilding efforts in the province by giving skills training to Boholanons.
TESDA Cordillera, along with the TESDA in the Ilocos region, will be giving free training, particularly on construction-related courses. The training will help in the rebuilding homes and other structures destroyed by the strongest typhoon that visited the country since Super Typhoon Yolanda.
The trainers are from the Provincial Training Centers of TESDA Kalinga, TESDA Mountain Province, TESDA Abra, TESDA Apayao, and TESDA Ifugao. There are four trainers for Electrical Installation and Maintenance, nine trainers for Carpentry, and six trainers for Masonry. — The STAR/Artemio Dumlao
The Department of the Interior and Local Government and other regional goverment offices in SOCCSKSARGEN has sent relief supplies for typhoon-stricken areas in the Caraga Region.
The supplies were transported in a 24-vehicle convoy that included dump trucks.
The humanitarian mission is a joint initiative of the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Regional Task Force on COVID-19.
The convoy on Tuesday follows an initial shipment of relief supplies to the Caraga Region that the DILG regional office initiated.
The provisions — clothings, food rations and hygiene kits — were received by DILG personnel in the Caraga region. — The STAR/John Unson
Total agriculture damage from Typhoon Odette is at P5.79 billion and counting, Agriculture Secretary William Dar says.
More than 70,000 hectares of agricultural land were affected.
Meanwhile, more than 506,000 houses were damaged by the super typhoon and may reach up to 600,000, Housing Secretary Eduardo del Rosario says.
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