Manila: A legislator is urging authorities to strictly monitor how assistance is being used by local and national authorities, as aid from foreign countries to flood-devastated areas of Northern Mindanao continue to pour in.

Senator Loren Legarda said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) should tightly monitor how government agencies are allocating the donations from abroad to areas devastated by typhoon Washi (local codename ‘Sendong') "to ensure that resources benefit targeted victim communities in affected areas."

According to the NDRRMC, Washi had affected 789 villages in 56 municipalities, eight cities and 13 provinces.

Among the most seriously affected were the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan and Northern Mindanao where flashfloods had massive inundation caused deaths to 1,257 people and untold difficulties to some 700,000 residents, mostly impoverished Christians as well as Muslims living in riverside communities.

Legarda said the government owes a debt of gratitude to donor that the funds go to where they are intended. "Strict monitoring and transparent accounting of aid should be undertaken to avoid misallocation and misuse of resources. The NDRRMC should efficiently coordinate relief efforts of various donors and manage resources that have been pouring in. Effective administration of aid will immensely contribute to the immediate recovery of severely affected communities," Legarda stressed.

According to, Legarda several international assistance in the form of goods and cash: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has given 42,000 tons of aid composed of blankets, jerry cans, and kitchen sets; International aid agency Oxfam is providing P24 million (Dhs 2 million) to families in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City; the US government pledged to provide $100,000 (Dhs 344,355).

Other nations that have pledged support include South Korea, Denmark, Indonesia and New Zealand. Various national and local government agencies, and private institutions have also contributed or pledged support for assistance to Washi victims.

Meanwhile, the Senator also supported the joint flash appeal of the Philippine Government, the United Nations specialized agencies, international organisations and development partners, to raise $28.5 million (Dhs 10,466,640) in aid to cover all the immediate assistance needed by victims of Washi shown in the rapid-needs assessment conducted by the national government, in cooperation with the Philippine humanitarian community.

As Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Legarda echoed the call of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to Philippine embassies and consulates to inform their host governments of the said appeal.

"Aside from making sure that all forms of assistance are efficiently delivered to target beneficiaries, we have to continuously tap external assistance for long-term rehabilitation efforts in communities devastated by Sendong, particularly in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City. Families living along the Cagayan River, the Mandulog River, and other high-risk areas must be relocated to safer ground," Legarda concluded.

Earlier, on Monday, a delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), through the Office of Secretary-General Ekmeluddin Ihsanoglu, sent a delegation to Northern Mindanao.

The OIC delegation is led by Fuad Ali Al-Maznaee, Director of the OIC Humanitarian Affairs Department, Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Khuzayem, Executive Director of the OIC Islamic Solidarity Fund, Saif Taher, Director for Muslim Communities and Minorities, and Abdoulaye Kebe, Humanitarian Affairs Department.