P142 million earmarked in medical aid for areas hit by 'Kristine'

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) announced that it has allocated P142 million in assistance to support communities affected by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami).

In a briefing with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañang on Friday, October 25, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said the funding covers essential medical supplies, water sanitation resources and mental health support.

A significant portion of the aid, amounting to P97 million, was used to send medical and emergency health supplies to severely affected areas.

“Of the goods that we have deployed, we have actually sent out 97 million pesos-worth of medical supplies and public health emergency supplies,” Herbosa said.

The Healh department has also allocated P36 million for water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) resources, providing blue jerry cans that allow evacuees to access safe drinking water. 

“These are the blue jerry cans that we see in the evacuation centers. One can per family, and you just put one aqua tab and it’s potable also to replace our water filtration na hindi pa dumadating to provide drinking water for our people,” the DOH chief said.

An additional P6.8 million has been alloted for nutrition assistance, along with P1.8 million for psychosocial support to help residents cope with the aftermath of the storm.

Herbosa said the DOH has declared a “Code Blue” alert in Cagayan Valley, Bicol and Ilocos, its highest disaster response level, to ensure rapid mobilization of medical teams and supplies.

Metro Manila, Central Luzon, MIMAROPA and Western Visayas remain on “Code White” alert, keeping health workers ready to assist as needed.

Herbosa reported that most fatalities from Severe Tropical Storm Kristine occurred in the Bicol Region.

Kristine, which exited the PAR at 2 p.m. on Friday, displaced tens of thousands of people due to flooding, with the death toll rising as new reports of victims emerged.

State weather bureau PAGASA warned that Kristine could potentially curve back toward the Philippines, depending on the development of other cyclones.