This week, the province of Cebu took the biggest blow from Typhoon Tino, with its death toll currently at 71 out of a nationwide 114, according to the Office of Civil Defense. Over 119,000 have been evacuated in the province, according to Cebu Governor Pam Baricuatro, who also called for a probe into flood control projects in the province as its lowland communities remain submerged in flood waters.
“P26 billion of flood control funds for Cebu, yet we are flooded to the max,” Baricuatro said in a Facebook post on Tuesday, November 4.
In a Palace press briefing on Wednesday, November 5, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro invited Baricuatro to provide the national government with more information on the province’s flood control projects. Castro emphasized that investigations should not only cover projects carried out under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Iyong initial data natin ay 343 flood control projects ang nagawa since 2016 to 2022 sa Cebu,” she said. “Kung mayroon pong 343 flood control projects noon pa man, dapat po sana ay gumagana ito. So, pagtulung-tulungan po nating mahanap ang dapat na mapanagot sa mga maanomalyang flood control projects.”
Castro also told reporters that Baricuatro’s alliance with the Duterte political family does not affect the national government’s response to the devastation in Cebu. “Kahit naman po hindi kaalyado ng pangulo, kahit anong kulay po niyan, ang pangulo po ay handang tumulong kahit po kanino basta po kinakailangan ang tulong ng gobyerno,” said the Palace press officer.
Marcos has declared a state of national calamity following Typhoon Tino’s devastation.
The Senate’s probe into flood control anomalies is expected to resume on November 14, but will also wrap up this month as the upper chamber gears up for hearings on the government’s farm-to-market road projects.
Meanwhile, a tropical storm with the international name Fung-wong is forecast to hit the country this Friday or Saturday, and may intensify into a super typhoon.
