By Annabel J. Petinglay
ILOILO CITY, (PNA) — Four Iloilo towns were affected by a tornado that hit the province Monday night, Iloilo Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) executive officer Jerry Bionat said.
Bionat said the tornado damaged 89 houses – 63 partially and 26 totally – in Oton, Pavia, Barotac Nuevo and San Miguel towns.
He said the villages of Cabugao Norte and Cabugao Sur in Pavia suffered the most while the Pal-agon Elementary School building in the village of Pal-agon was partially damaged.
Some farmlands were also affected but Bionat noted that since the crops are still in the vegetative stage for the second cropping, these could easily recover.
Bionat said a state of calamity cannot be declared in the affected areas since the extent of damage is minimal, noting that it did not affect at least 20 percent of the areas’ population.
He said he has submitted to Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. the partial list of the damaged houses for the release of financial assistance, which would be taken from the social services fund.