MANILA — Floodwaters in many areas affected by Tropical Storm Enteng are now receding, and “life is returning to normal,” Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian announced on Tuesday.
Gatchalian noted that relief efforts are ongoing as numerous families remain in evacuation centers.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had prepositioned 1.7 million food packs before the storm hit the country, with 130,000 of these being distributed in the affected areas.
“Humuhupa na ang baha, pero syempre may nanatili pa rin tayo evacuees, meron pang danger zone na ayaw pa pauwiin mga nabaha. Pero humuhupa na ang baha, unti-unti nang nagnonormalize ang buhay ng mga tao,” Gatchalian stated.
(The flood is now receding in most areas, but evacuees in danger zones cannot go home yet. However, life is slowly returning to normal in most areas.)
Gatchalian visited several affected locations in Rizal and Laguna to oversee disaster response activities.
“Lahat ng disasters sa’min, tinuturing namin na malubha. We do not overestimate a disaster. Ang isang buhay na maapektuhan, sa amin buhay pa rin yon. Ang gobyerno, 101 percent ang response,” he added.
(We see the urgency in all disasters. We do not underestimate a disaster. One life affected is one too many. Our government provides a 101% response.)
Over 120 families remain in evacuation centers in Barangay Rosario in San Pedro, Laguna. In Cavite, 256 families who evacuated during the storm are still in shelters as of 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Close to a hundred families are currently staying in Bacoor Coliseum, having been moved from other evacuation centers before the storm’s arrival.
However, their previous temporary shelters were flooded on Monday, as shown in a viral video recorded by Haidee Ocampo.
The evacuees had to be transferred to Bacoor Coliseum in Barangay Molino III.
“Mahirap po kasi hakot ng gamit tapos bigas namin nabasa, di namin namalayan yung baha,” said Haidee Ocampo, who recorded the video and is eight months pregnant.
(It’s very difficult to transfer our belongings, and even our rice got wet because we didn’t realize the water was rising.)
“Sobrang hirap po kasi lumulusob sa baha kasi kailangan. Sana mabigyan kami ng relokasyon,” she added.
(It was very hard to wade through the floods, but it was necessary. We hope they can provide us with relocation.)
According to the Cavite Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), most of the evacuees in the province are from the cities of Imus and Bacoor.