AID TO MAGUINDANAO. Dinagat Islands Gov. Nilo Demerey Jr. (4th from right) leads the turnover of PHP1 million cash aid on Monday (Nov. 28, 2022) to Maguindanao province, which was badly hit by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng last month. Demerey delivered relief goods consisting of clothing and other necessities. (Photo courtesy of Gov. Nilo Demerey Jr.)
BUTUAN CITY – Families badly affected by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng last month in Maguindanao received cash aid and relief goods from Dinagat Islands province.
“We also turned over relief goods that can be used by the affected families, especially clothing and the other basic needs,” Dinagat Islands Governor Nilo Demerey Jr. said in an interview on Tuesday.
Demerey personally handed over the PHP1 million cash aid Monday afternoon to Maguindanao's top officials.
Accompanying Demerey during the delivery of the cash aid was Rosario Roxas-Alon, Dinagat’s provincial disaster and risk reduction management officer (PDRRMO), and officers from the Army’s 1505th Ready Reserve Infantry Battalion.
The cash aid was received by Maguindanao PDRRMO Datu Nashrullah Imam and Provincial Administrator Cyrus Torreña.
Demerey recalled the hardships the residents of Dinagat Islands went through when the powerful Typhoon Odette struck in December last year.
“We have been into this kind of experience. Our people in Dinagat Islands lost their homes, properties, and livelihood due to the last typhoon that hit our province,” the governor said.
He noted that Maguindanao province was among the local government units in the country that provided immediate assistance to the people of Dinagat Islands after the onslaught of Odette.
“Now is the time for Dinagat to help the people of Maguindanao, especially during this time of crisis due to calamities,” Demerey said.
Maguindanao, part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), is among the severely hit areas in the country during the onslaught of Paeng last month.
In its Nov. 19 situational report, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council said a total of 215,961 families or 1,077,338 individuals were directly-affected by Paeng in BARMM.
The calamity also left 68 persons dead, 169 injured, and 13 missing in the BARMM. (PNA)
