TYPHOON-AFFECTED AREAS PROVIDED TONS OF RELIEF GOODS, SHELTER ASSISTANCE — OCD CHIEF

Jalad

The government has sent more than 7,000 tons of relief goods and more than P400-million worth of shelter assistance to communities devastated by Typhoon Odette last month, the chief of the country’s civil defense agency said on Monday.

Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, the administrator of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), said in his report to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte that the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) sent a total of 6.4 million kilos of relief goods to typhoonaffected regions, with the OCD contributing P122 million.

Based on the President’s instruction, Jalad, who is also the executive director of the NDRRMC, said the government also contracted the services of a bottling company for the supply of bottled water from its plants in Ormoc City and Laguna.

“And ang total --- kasama na ‘yung mga donations from China, LT Group, and Taiwan, and other donors, mayroon tayong naibigay na mahigit 2 million, almost 3 million liters of bottled water,” Jalad said during the President’s weekly public address.

Aside from that, he said the OCD facilitated the deployment of mobile water treatment equipment. Other entities such as the Manila Water, Local Water Utilities Administration, and S&S Corp. sought government assistance for the deployment and transport of such equipment.

In terms of repairing and building damaged homes, Jalad said a shelter cluster has been created with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) serving as lead agency.

Included in the cluster are the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), OCD and other government agencies working to provide affected families with shelter assistance.

The OCD chief also said that the National Housing Authority (NHA) has downloaded the initial P487.5 million directly to the local government units tasked to distribute cash assistance to the survivors whose homes were destroyed by the typhoon.

“Ang DSWD naman ay hinahanda na ang pondo in the amount of P4.3 billion through a request for National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund. Ang NHA naman ay magsu-submit din ng request for additional funds para sa kanilang emergency shelter assistance,” Jalad said.

In addition, Jalad reported that the OCD has received $1-million donation from the Republic of China, in which the P40 million was transferred to the NHA for the agency’s emergency shelter assistance.

The rest of the money will be retained by the OCD to aid families with reported casualties during the disaster, according to Jalad.

Based on the latest official government figures, a total of 2.2 million families or 7.7 million individuals were affected by Typhoon Odette in 11 regions. The disaster also left 1.2 million damaged houses. There were 403 reported deaths with 78 missing.

The damage to infrastructures was at P17.6 billion, with P8.9 billion losses to the agriculture sector. PND

GETTING JABBED. Residents availing of free Covid-19 jabs enter the Ponciano Bernardo Elementary School along P. Tuazon Boulevard in Brgy. Kaunlaran, Quezon City on Friday (Jan.14, 2022). Vaccinees from age 12 are welcome but should have confirmed schedules. (PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)

PH HITS INITIAL TARGET OF 54M FULLY VACCINATED FILIPINOS

The Philippines has administered 117,337,626 doses of coronavirus vaccines nationwide, with 54,423,286 Filipinos already with complete doses.

On Friday, the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 marked another milestone in the national vaccination program as it hit the 70-percent target for population protection against the virus despite grappling with challenges such as calamities, sudden increase of Covid-19 cases, and the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The latest data from National Vaccination Operations Center also showed that 4,403,780 out of the total fully vaccinated individuals have received booster shots or additional doses. The government will ramp up its goal to 90 million by the Caraga INFOCUS

first half of the year.

NTF chief Secretary Carlito Galvez earlier said the government will prioritize the inoculation of at least three million unvaccinated senior citizens in the coming weeks.

The vaccine czar said the elderly sector is more prone to hospitalization and death if they remained unvaccinated against Covid-19.

He called on local government units (LGUs) to continue strengthening their vaccination strategies to cover as many Filipinos as possible.

“This current Omicron surge will target the unvaccinated. Sa lahat ng ating mga LGU, gawin natin ang lahat ng ating makakaya para mahikayat ang ating mga mamamayan na magpabakuna na para maka-iwas sa severe cases, pagka-ospital o pagkamatay (To all LGUs, let’s do our best to encourage more citizens to get vaccinated to prevent severe cases, hospitalization and death),” Galvez said in a news release on Friday.

He urged LGUs to prioritize the provision of primary doses to the vulnerable sectors, while ramping up the administration of booster shots.

The Philippines has so far received 213,655,520 doses of Covid-19 vaccines from various manufacturers, both procured and donated, since February 2021.

More than 96 million doses are currently in the stockpile. The mini-rollout for children aged 5 to 11 is tentatively set February 1 to 7. (PNA/ Lade Jean Kabagani) January 8-14, 2022 | 29