General Santos City (CNN Philippines) — The province of South Cotabato is now placed under State of Calamity after it sustained heavy damages during torrential rains on June 24.
On Monday (July 6), the South Cotabato Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) has approved during its regular session a resolution recommending the declaration of a province-wide state of calamity.
Provincial Board Member Agustin Demaala, chair of the Committee on Peace and Order and Safety confirmed the approval of the resolution after three local government units (LGU) separately declared state of calamity.
The three LGUs that declared the state of calamity are Koronadal City, Tupi and Tantangan. The province only needs three LGUs to declare a province-wide state of calamity, Demaala said.
The SP’s approval of the state of calamity means that the Quick Response Fund (QRF) of South Cotabato amounting to P19 million can be immediately used for rehabilitation and recovery efforts.
Mila Lorca, acting officer of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) reported that the June 24 incident left over P28 million worth of damages to crops and P41.99 million of infrastructures. It also noted three people killed from Barangay Lunen in Tupi town and displaced 1,032 families or 5,182 individuals in the seven municipalities of the province.
The most notable damage to infrastructure was sustained by the 60-meter Namnama bridge in Barangay Namnama, Koronadal City. The said bridge connects the municipalities of Lutayan and Columbio in Sultan Kudarat Province. The initial estimates of the damage to the bridge mentioned at P45 million.
Floods during the incident also damaged the road pavement approach of Leopoldo Sanico Bridge in Barangay Concepcion, also in Koronadal.
South Cotabato Governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes, during the PDRRMC meetings, directed the mayors to enforce forced evacuation for families living along the riverbanks and areas identified as flood and landslide prone.
