Airport Gives Help

[Medic Mike]

Thursday, October 31, 2013

THE agency that runs Cebu’s international airport gave P1 million yesterday to the Cebu Capitol and is ready to give the same amount soon to Bohol.

Nearly three weeks after a quake shook both provinces, help continued to arrive from a power cooperative, a school officials’ group, the Bureau of Quarantine and an association of Boholanos in Cebu, among others.

Today is the second public holiday since the magnitude 7.2 quake damaged P2.25 billion worth of roads, schools and other public infrastructure in Central Visayas.

It also killed 222 and injured 796. The quake and its aftershocks forced nearly 75,000 families (368,691 persons) outside of their homes in Bohol Province, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported (NDRRMC).

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) gave P1 million to the Cebu Provincial Government yesterday. MCIAA General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete handed the check to Gov. Hilario Davide III and said the MCIAA will probably give Bohol’s share on Tuesday.

“We will always lend a helping hand, especially in times of calamity,” said Villarete.

The MCIAA Board approved the resolution to give help last Oct. 17, two days after the quake.

Several other groups continued to help yesterday.

The Philippine Association of School Superintendents Inc. donated P200,000 to the Capitol, through the governor.

The Bureau of Quarantine used its own boat, the M/L Quarantine, to ferry medical supplies and relief goods to Tagbilaran City and other coastal areas in Bohol.

“No less than our director, Dr. Edgar Sabitsana, who is based in Manila, came to Cebu and Bohol to supervise the loading of relief goods on our vessel,” Dr. Emmanuel Labella, the bureau’s regional chief, said.

Circulo Boholano de Cebu, an organization of Boholanos who now live in Cebu, is also raising funds to buy flashlights, batteries, transistor radios and mobile phone loads for the earthquake survivors in Bohol.

Power

The Bohol 1 electric Cooperative (Boheco 1) reported 100 percent power restoration in 602 barangays of the 26 towns of Bohol.

The NDRRMC, however, in its latest report yesterday morning, that power interruptions were still being observed in towns like Antequera, Calape, Catigbian and Loon.

Jeffie Nery of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said that the Bohol Provincial Government conducts daily briefings on the progress of rehabilitation work in the quake-struck towns.

The quake also caused some damage in Mactan airport, where some ceiling boards fell,
said Villarete.

He assured, however, that the building and its runway remain structurally safe. Its bids and awards committee is preparing to identify contractors who can repair what was damaged, starting in December.

As to the airport’s new terminal project, Villarete said the winning bidder might be announced in January or February next year.

Ready for use

In Cebu, the Legislative Building has been certified ready for use, at least from the first to the third floors.

Provincial Engineer Hector Jamora said the first three levels can now be occupied and that only the fourth floor needs to be kept off-limits.

He said it is up to the Provincial Board members, whose offices are on the second and third floors, to decide when to go back.

In Bohol, Boheco 1 Consultant Belinda Sales-Canlas said a total of 3,011 transformers were installed in 602 barangays.

There are 129,374 household connections in the 26 towns and 18,308 were damaged by earthquake. But as of yesterday, 5,437 were already re-energized, Sales-Canlas said.

She said all the damaged house connections will be restored in the next several days.

The Cebu Electric Cooperative (Cebeco) 1, 2 and 3 sent a 30-member contingent to Bohol to assist Boheco 1 in their restoration project.

By air

Among the companies that reached out to the survivors was the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s transmission group.

“As soon as it was safe for our people to mobilize, we organized relief operations for Boholanos who badly needed food and water,” said Nelson Cabangon, head of NGCP’s Corporate Affairs Department.

The NGCP, in a press statement, said it gave out 7,000 packs of relief goods last Oct. 24 and 25 to 10 towns: Danao, Antequera, Maribojoc, Tubigon, Calape, Loon, Cortes, Corella, Sagbayan and Carmen.

Relief operations were done in coordination with the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Offices to help identify priority families and individuals.

NGCP used its helicopters to deliver the relief goods. “We exhausted various means to efficiently distribute the goods. We used our chopper and line trucks to expedite the delivery to the 10 municipalities,” said Cabangon.

NGCP is a privately-owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s power grid. (PR)