BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday said they are planning to declare a state of calamity in Bacolod City even if no fatalities or injuries were reported since there were many properties destroyed during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette especially those along the shoreline.
Leonardia said he even felt the strong winds while he was at the Bacolod City Government Center at 11 p.m. at the height of the storm. So, they expect the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod to come up with a resolution declaring a state of calamity in Bacolod City so they could help residents who have been affected by the typhoon.
Social Services and Development head Pacita Tero said there were 578 houses destroyed and 6,606 damaged houses in Bacolod City as of 12 noon yesterday.
Leonardia said the city government will provide financial assistance of P5,000 to those whose houses were damaged, which is an increase from P3,000 before. They will also give P10,000 to those whose houses were destroyed, which is also an increase from what used to be only P5,000.
He thanked the people of Bacolod for their cooperation, he said adding that “This is the first time ever that our pre-emptive evacuation was a success.” He recalled that they had a hard time convincing people to leave their homes before the storm arrived. But this time, over 5,000 agreed or cooperated.
Leonardia said he was informed that a resident of Barangay Banago was rendering overtime work when a big tree fell on his house. Had he been at home, he would have suffered injuries.
This is also the second time a super typhoon hit Bacolod and the city was also spared. So, we have so much to thank the Lord for, the mayor said.
Leonardia said they have also requested Central Negros Electric Cooperative to restore electricity in areas affected by the typhoon and that he believes they are trying their best to energize these areas after several electric posts were affected. He also requested the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office to remove debris especially trees that were toppled down by the storm.
Meanwhile, Leonardia said he has issued an executive order lifting curfew hours on December 24, 25 and 31.
He said they are very happy that there were only two COVID-19 cases reported Sunday and the day before that there was zero.
“We should remember that COVID is not officially over. In places like Australia, Europe and the US cases are still very high. So, we should continue to follow health protocols until the time that we are completely free from COVID-19,” the mayor said.
Leonardia reiterated that the best Christmas gift that we could give our loved ones is to follow health protocols.*
