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Odette...

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decried what they said was the Duterte administration’s slow response to their critical situation.

While the fi nal death toll was not yet known, at least 200 were reported killed by the destruction caused by Odette’s powerful winds and torrential rains.

Damage to the agricultural sector has been pegged at P2.2 billion (about $44 million).

This as a new storm to be named Paolo is seen to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility this week which is expected to initially hit Mindanao and eastern Visayas around Christmas Day.

Just how bad the situation is can be gleaned from Bohol Gov. Arturo Yap’s saying that looting had been taking place in his province by normally law abiding residents who had gotten desperate.

As for Siargao, the fi rst place where Pope...

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time, committed to lend the Philippines the equivalent of P14 billion to support and build up disaster risk reduction eff orts at the local level, Finance Secretary Carlos Domiguez said.

In a statement, the DOF said that it signed a €250-million policy-based loan with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), with the funds aimed at scaling up local governments’ disaster risk management capabilities.

Last week, the United Nations High Odette made landfall, the popular “surfing capital of the Philippines” is practically no more, with the wharf and all the tourist facilities mostly made of light materials completely destroyed. Its airport, however, remained operational for small planes, the only way out for the stranded tourists there to make it out of the place.

The Energy department said the hardest hit areas are not likely to have power until early next year. These include Bohol, Dinagat Islands, and Surigao del Norte.

The Department of Trade and Industry said they were checking reports that bottled drinking water was being sold by merchants at grossly overpriced sums, particularly in Cebu and Negros Occidental

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said he had instructed DTI’s regional offi ces “to apprehend business owners who are profi teering and unduly increasing prices of consumer goods.”

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the support of the Australian government, sent about 1,000 solar lamps, 1,000 mosquito nets, 1,000 plastic tarps, and 200 plastic sheets to augment the governmentled relief operations on the ground and help displaced families in the severely affected islands of Siargao and Dinagat.

US Embassy Charge d’Aff aires ad interim Heather Variava said the US has provided 19 trucks to transport Department of Social Welfare and Development relief commodities across Caraga, Central Visayas and Western Visayas.

The US also provided 12 trucks carry-

The Trade department also stated that generation sets were being sold at bloated prices by typhoon profi teers.

Profi teering takes place when goods are sold at 10 percent or more than its price in the previous month.

A businessman from a prominent Negros family confi rmed to Philippine News Today that prices of such essentials as bottled water, canned food, and candles were being sold at outrageous prices. With the absence of power, foods stored in refrigerators and freezers were sure to spoil.

He requested anonimity as he was preparing to go out to buy emergency rations bearing a gun which he said was licensed but with no permit to carry. He said he was “willing to shoot” any merchant selling overpriced water.

He added that he could not depend on both the national and local government “as usual.”

As of this writing, power has been restored in only about 10 percent of Cebu City after the majority of the power lines were felled by the super storm.

More than a week after the strongest storm to hit the Philippines in recent years, the Duterte administration fi nally ordered the Philippine National Police to assist local government units in their rescue and recovery eff orts, as well as extend relief to surviving victims.

The government is also scrambling for funds, with President Rodrigo Duterte pledging to raise P10 billion to fund the necessary eff orts this week. He had earlier said the government was short of funds as the bulk of the government’s budget was already depleted by its continuing efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Bank has provided a standby loan of $500 million to the Philippines for use in emergencies such as natural calamities.

ing 20,000 food rations to aff ected areas and helped in activating mobile storage units for transporting supplies to Surigao City and Surigao del Norte.

World leaders also sent their condolences to the bereaved families of those who perished in the aftermath of the super typhoon.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa is providing fi nancial assistance through the Red Cross, which should help address the urgent need for water and sanitation on the ground.

“My heart goes out to the people of the Philippines, whose lives have been forever changed by last week’s super typhoon. Canadians are sending our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones - and we’ll keep everyone aff ected in our thoughts during this challenging time,” he said in a statement.

“In the days and weeks ahead, we’ll continue to help those who need it most,” he added.

Canadian Minister for International Development Harjit Sajjan announced that Ottawa will extend up to CA$3 million (approximately P118.7 million) in assistance, including CA$500,000 for the urgent Red Cross response.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent his sympathies and personally expressed solidarity with the Filipino people. ”Russia shares the grief of those who lost their family members and friends as a result of this natural disaster and wishes a speedy recovery to all those injured,“ he said.

The United Kingdom has pledged GBP750,000 (approximately P49.47 million) to the Philippine Red Cross, which will be coursed through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) “to help support those in desperate need of assistance”.

The New Zealand government, meanwhile, will donate NZ$500,000 (approximately P16.77 million) to the Philippines to support the IFRC’s eff orts on the ground.

Hungary is sending HUF20 million (approximately P3.05 million) to the typhoon victims and to help restore the damaged churches in Cebu.

“Hungary is sending 20million HUF (EUR54,000) to the victims of a typhoon which hit the Philippines last week, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Sunday. The Hungary Embassy in Manila is working together with Caritas Manila, Anton CT Pascual, and (Foreign Aff airs Secretary) Teodoro Locsin, Jr. after Typhoon Odette,” Hungarian Ambassador to the Philippines Titanilla Tóth said.

Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said about 20,000 food packages worth around P8 million are on their way to Cebu, Leyte, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro City, Surigao City, Negros Oriental, and other provinces hit by Odette.

At the same time, 4.7 million kilograms of Chinese government-donated rice are already in diff erent Philippine ports, of which 1.5 million kg. are in Cebu and 3.2 million kg. are in Manila for deployment.

“Chinese relief goods on their way to areas devastated by Typhoon Odette. Our hearts go out to all the Filipino families who were devastated by Typhoon Odette which has caused massive casualties as well as property loss,” Huang said.

“We thank the Philippine government, in particular the Department of Social Welfare and Development for their great eff orts in urgently distributing these rice to those Filipino families in need. China will do its utmost to continue its fi rm support to the disaster relief eff orts of the Philippine government and the Filipino people,” he added.

The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) is likewise contributing a total of P12 million through its Filipino Chinese Community Calamity Fund.

The Israeli Embassy in Manila in a text message said Ambassador Ilan Fluss is also fl ying to Cebu to deliver solar panels, food packs, and hygiene kits to typhoonaff ected residents on December 22.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the World Food Programme and the Philippine government, has deployed two mobile operations vehicles for emergency (MOVE) to Surigao and Ormoc to facilitate access to electricity and internet for responders on the ground.

The Japanese Embassy in Manila said Tokyo is also sending disaster relief assistance in the form of generators, camping tents, sleeping pads, portable water containers; and plastic sheets to cover roofs.