By Virgilio L. Orquiola
ILOILO CITY, Nov. 18 (PNA)- It will take at least four months before the supply of electricity will be restored in their area of jurisdiction that include the 12 towns in Northern Iloilo, which was ravaged by super typhoon Yolanda.
Engr. Antonio Lazaraga of the Iloilo Electric Cooperative (ILECO) 3, said almost 95 percent of ILECO 3’s power lines and electric posts were destroyed by Yolanda and it would take maintenance personnel for quite sometime to restore the damaged facilities.
Earlier, Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. has asked the help of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to fast-track the rehabilitation effort of the damaged facilities for immediate restoration of power supply in the badly-hit Northern Iloilo towns.
A total of 600 electric posts have been toppled down by Yolanda’s strong winds.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office here confirmed the shortage in the supply of canned goods in the market in the region now-a-days.
DSWD-6 Social Marketing officer Maricar Calubiran said large groceries in various malls here almost run out of canned goods supply which are bought not only by the agency but also other civic-oriented groups that initiated their own relief operation for typhoon victims.
But DSWD assured typhoon victims that the agency will look for suppliers that could cope up with additional supply of canned goods in the region.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), on the other hand, also assured they have already the supplier of canned goods for relief operation.
DTI Region 6 director Dominic Abad said they have already contacted a supplier in Zamboanga City for the 3.5 million cans of sardines which are now being readied to be shipped in Region 6.
Based on the latest record of the Iloilo Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, a total of 179,000 families equivalent to 774,000 individuals have been affected by the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda that devastated most of the towns under the 5th district in Northern Iloilo province. A total of 89,000 houses have been totally destroyed and 77,000 other houses partially damaged.
Yolanda’s death toll now reached 223 persons dead in the province of Iloilo.
Hard-hit Northern Iloilo towns still remain powerless as of presstime. (PNA)