BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday announced that the provincial government of Negros Occidental will extend help to local government units in northern Luzon affected by the magnitude 7 earthquake on July 27.
Asked on the amount of financial assistance the provincial government may extend, Lacson said they usually allocate P1 million.
He, however, said they will have to get first information on the extent of the damage, and if the concerned LGUs declared a state of calamity.
Our policy is, better to help than to receive, Lacson said, as he recalled that Negros Occidental also received help from other LGUs in the country after being hit by typhoon Odette in December last year.
The province of Abra was placed yesterday under a state of calamity.
The epicenter of the magnitude 7 earthquake that jolted Northern Luzon on Wednesday was recorded in Tayum, Abra, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
The provinces of Ilocos Sur and Norte, as well as neighboring areas, were also hit by earthquake.*
