Non-government agencies have already joined other government agencies to enter evacuation centres and isolated places to distribute relief goods in affected municipalities in Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley and Surigao del Norte, regional defence operations officer Antonio Cloma told the Inquirer.
“The government is doing its best to support the requirements of the victims [in all other affected areas],” he added.
Government agencies gave these assurances following a prediction that looting might spread to other areas.
Earlier, before Bopha’s landfall last December 4, government agencies like the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the social welfare department gave assurances that they were prepared to make prompt deliveries of food supplies in areas likely to be affected by Typhoon Bopha.
How looting story developed earlier
Reports of looting in Cateel, Davao Oriental were confirmed by a local government official, Cedric Daep on Saturday. But at that time, military men denied that looting had happened at all.
Displaced residents are hungry
In other places which were severely damaged by Typhoon Bopha, such as New Bataan, another hard-hit town in Compostela Valley, hungry people from evacuation centres and isolated places marched on the road carrying messages about being hungry, their need for assistance and the absence of food.
Such images predict a social disaster about to erupt; it is also subliminal criticism of the government’s preparedness during a crisis, a government official who requested anonymity told Gulf News.
