ILOILO – A week of inclement weather has cut off 18 island barangays from the mainland of the northern coastal municipality of Carles. Fishermen are not able to go out fishing. With motorboats grounded, residents are also not able to buy badly needed supplies from the town center. Island-hopping tourists are stranded, too.
Mayor Siegfredo Betita appealed for aid yesterday. Food shortage in the islands drove the municipal government to declare a state of calamity.
But even the 15 mainland coastal villages of Carles are affected by torrential monsoon rains and gale, too, according to Betita.
“People could not go out and fish. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) won’t allow them,” he said.
Yesterday afternoon, PCG’s Cape Engaño MRRV4411 vessel was set to transport food packs to Carles’ Islas de Gigantes island chain. It was requested by Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.
The Gigantes consists of about 10 islands; the two largest are Gigantes Norte (North Gigantes) and Gigantes Sur (South Gigantes).
The island chain has four villages – Asluman (834 families), Granada (771 families), Gabi (613 families), and Lantangan (1,054 families) – with nearly 18,000 residents.
Betita said the weeklong inclement weather also left some 200 tourists stuck in Gigantes Island.
“We cannot ferry them to the mainland so we have to take care of them. There were about 94 tourists from Passi City composed of village and municipal officials who held a teambuilding activity there,” he said.
White sand beaches and pristine waters have made the Gigantes a fledgling tourist attraction in Carles.
Carles’ Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council have been tasked to deliver food and water to Gigantes and other nearby islands. But transporting them is a challenge.
Betita asked the provincial and national governments to provide the municipality with steel-hulled or fiberglass boats to transport the goods.
The PCG recommended tapping roll on, roll off (ro-ro) vessels. Betita said the provincial government could ask for ro-ro vessels plying the Dumangas, Iloilo – Baclod City route.
“Nag-declare una state of calamity ang apat ka barangays sang Gigantes Island. But we decided to make a municipal-wide declaration of a state of calamity because even the mainland villages were suffering, too,” said Betita.
“Ang main livelihood sang mga pumoluyo sa Carles is fishing. Kon indi sila magpangisda, gutom sila. This is what’s happening now,” said Betita.
In Memorandum Order No. 60, Series of 2019 of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, a state of calamity may be declared by a city, municipality or province if the following conditions brought about by natural and/or human-induced disasters are present:
* at least 15 percent of the forecasted affected population based on a science-based projection are in need of emergency assistance
* disruptions of lifelines such as food supply chain, electricity, potable water system, other transport systems, community system, access to health service, and other related system that cannot be restored within one week, or within 24 hours in the case of highly-urbanized areas.
Yesterday Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. had an emergency meeting with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) led by Dr. Jerry Bionat and Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office. Assistance would be shipped to Carles’ island barangays today.
The Office of Civil Defense and Department of Social Welfare and Development will be helping, too. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
