A total of 1,067 families from Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte went home with family food packs and rice that could last them a few days during a distribution event at Pagudpud Cultural and Sports Complex on Sunday, led by no less than President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Aside from the food aid from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, various government agencies such as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Public Works and Highways and Department of Education pledged to facilitate the speedy recovery of Typhoon Marce-hit communities.
DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating mga Disadvantaged/Displaced Works will aid 3,895 beneficiaries in the towns of Pagudpud, Pasuquin, Vintar, Bacarra, Adams, Dumalneg, Bangui and Burgos.
“We are so grateful for the visit of the President. His presence gives us new hope that everything will be alright,” Remy Calvan, a massage therapist of Barangay Saud in Pagudpud, said.
Pagudpud is famous for its pristine white sand beaches and picture-perfect natural landscapes but after Marce, Saud village chief Frila Fae Viloria said it will take some time for them to recover.
“In our village alone, a total of 103 houses, including 20 resorts, homestays and stores, were partially damaged by strong winds,” Viloria told the Philippine News Agency.
Left alone inside her home on Thursday night at Marce’s peak and under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4, Merilyn Curammeng, 71, said her house’s roofing was blown off.
“Typhoon Marce was the worst typhoon I experienced so far,” she said.
She was rescued by her grandchild who lives nearby.
Laureta Faylogna and Joveni Aning, both of Poblacion 2 in Pagudpud, expressed gratitude to the President. They are counting on government help to rebuild their homes torn down at the height of Typhoon Marce on Nov. 7.
Aning, 52, a fisherman, said he wants to continue sending his daughter, Jovelyn, to school.
Jovelyn is a junior BS Education student. (Leilanie Adriano)
(Source: Philippine News Agency)