BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Hundreds of Negrenses will likely spend the New Year in evacuation centers, almost three weeks after the onslaught of super typhoon “Odette” in Negros Occidental.
Records of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office show that Candoni town has the most number of evacuees – 300 families are still in evacuation centers.
It is followed by Ilog town with 205 families, Sipalay City with 181, La Castellana with 84, Kabankalan City with 34, and Sagay City with 28.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the typhoon destroyed 3,764 houses and damaged 16,477 more, and it also left unquantified devastation to agricultural crops and livestock.
As of Dec. 20, the losses were estimated P6 billion. The bulk was in agriculture (P4,445,050,801), followed by animal and livestock (P488,780,000), food and nutrition (P327,768,300), and infrastructure (P201 million).
Losses in schools were pegged at P268,331,200; damaged houses at P212,780,000; and destroyed houses at P13,635,000.
Damage to seaports, meanwhile, was estimated at P12 million while cost to health at P13,602,000.
Meanwhile, the Negros Occidental Provincial Price Coordinating Council (PPCC) has asked President Rodrigo Duterte to impose a price ceiling on basic necessities and prime commodities urgently needed by Negrenses affected by “Odette”.
Governor Lacson, who chairs the council, said in a statement on Tuesday night the recommendation was contained in a resolution approved by the PPCC during its meeting on Dec. 27.
The resolution mentioned necessities such as potable water, poultry, and livestock as well as prime commodities like galvanized iron sheets and other construction materials, solar panels, and generator sets, among others.
“This is to ensure that said commodities are adequate, affordable and accessible to all Negrenses throughout the duration of the state of calamity brought about by Typhoon Odette,” it said./PN
