ALBAY’S ‘DISRUPTED RESIDENTS’ ASSURED OF AID

By CET DEMATERA

LEGAZPI CITY---As part of its continuing efforts for disaster risk reduction and
climate change adaptation, Albay has included the over 40,000 families, most of
them marginal fishermen and farm workers, to the list of residents who would
immediately receive relief goods whenever prevailing weather systems pose danger
to their livelihood chores.

Classifying them as ‘disrupted residents,’ the new recipients would be handed
immediately five kilos of rice and other relief items once they will be asked
not to go out to fish or to do their daily farm works by the provincial
government.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said the recent initiative to attain zero casualty has
been based on the recent study of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency
Management Office (Apsemo) that thousands of fishermen and farmers from the
coastal and farming Albay villages brave the rough seas and
flashflood-triggering downpour only to source out for their daily provisions
despite the prevailing abnormal weather systems.

Salceda though admitted that this new initiative would cost the province more
but insisted that life is more precious than anything else.

“Zero casualty is indeed very difficult to achieve particularly in times of
disaster. But none can prevent Albay from attaining this goal,” Salceda said.

At the height of the lashings of a tailend of the cold front (TECT) and
inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in December and first two weeks of
January, Albay had already provided not only evacuees but even these disrupted
families with relief items, some of them came from international organizations.

“You can only do this by providing them food assistance since we are in effect
depriving them of their food and income source. There are 41,121 economically
disrupted households due to TECF in Albay. Thus far, we have provided the LGUs
twice. Thank you Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the
World Food Program (WFP) for saving lives of fishermen with your prompt delivery
of 55,000 packs of HEB (high energy biscuits),” Salceda emailed to the STAR.
Apsemo chief Cedric Daep said that they had already completed Albay’s risk
mapping using satellite-fed images up to the barangay level for precise
planning.

“Right now we are in the process of upgrading our household risk mapping for
easier identification and classification whether they are in areas being
threatened by floods, landslides, lahar, storm surge or strong wind,” Daep said.

Daep said putting all these data and information in place would make planning
and decision making more precise and faster before, during and after a disaster.
Albay has been awarded as the best PDRRMC (formerly PDCC) in two consecutive
years already. (cet dematera)