By V.L. Orquiola
ILOILO CITY, Nov. 19 (PNA) — The damage brought about by super typhoon Yolanda in the province of Iloilo already reached P10.3 billion.
Based on the record of the Iloilo Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) headed by Jerry Bionat said the health sector has incurred the biggest concern pegged at P797 million, followed by the damage to school buildings placed at 567 million; agriculture sector at P411 million; infra projects like streets and bridges at P61 million; environment, P19 million; and livelihood, P11 million.
Bionat said the damage is expected to increase because the PDRRMO has only received 85 percent of the damage in typhoon-battered towns in the province of Iloilo.
He said the hard-hit towns of Carles and Concepcion has so far submitted 20 percent of their damage report to the PDRRMO.
The province of Iloilo has created a rehabilitation plan for the entire province.
Meanwhile, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. said that the Iloilo Provincial Capitol decided to cancel the holding of the Christmas party to show its sympathy to victims of the calamity in Northern Iloilo.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial office made the same decision.
Iloilo provincial election supervisor Atty. Elizabeth Doronila said that instead of the Christmas party, the Comelec provincial office will distribute Christmas gifts in one of the barangays in Concepcion, Northern Iloilo where super typhoon “Yolanda” made its fifth landfall prior to its onslaught in other neighboring provinces in Panay island.
For his part, Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) regional director C/Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr. also ordered the cancellation of their Christmas party which is usually held at the regional headquarters in Camp Martin Delgado here.
The budget intended for the Christmas party will be donated to victims of the calamity, he said.
As of press time, Yolanda’s death toll in Iloilo province stood at 223 persons while 21 others are still missing.
More than 774,000 individuals living in 1,721 barangays were affected by the typhoon that totally destroyed more than 89,000 houses and partially damaged 77,000 other houses in the province of Iloilo. (PNA)