Lessons learned: Speaker Romualdez reminded of ‘Yolanda’ as he distributes aid to ‘Carina’ victims 

House Speaker Martin Romualdez distributes relief goods to flood victims (Speaker’s office)

House Speaker Martin Romualdez couldn’t help but be reminded of his experience with Typhoon “Yolanda” in Leyte over a decade ago as he led on Thursday, July 25 relief operations for people in Metro Manila who were affected by Typhoon “Carina”.

During the relief efforts, Speaker Romualdez cited the importance of “hitting the ground running” when it came to the distribution of relief goods to the typhoon victims.

“Personal naming karanasan matapos ang Bagyong Yolanda sa Leyte, mas maraming kailangang gawin ang gobyerno sa pagbalik ng mga evacuees sa kanilang mga bahay,” said the Leyte 1st district congressman.

(Based on our experience after Typhoon Yolanda was done with Leyte, the government had a lot of things to do before the evacuees could go back to their homes.)

“Hindi lamang mga imprastruktura ang kailangan nating itayong muli. Kailangang maibalik ang tiwala ng ating mga kababayan sa kakayahan nilang makabangon muli,” noted the Speaker.

(Not only structures needed to be restored. The people’s belief that they can recover also needed to be restored.)

“We have initiated the distribution of relief packs since yesterday to ensure that affected citizens receive the essential supplies they need during this challenging time,” Speaker Romualdez said, referring to the relief operations conducted by his office and Tingog Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez (far left speaks to the evacuees (Speaker’s office)

Typhoon Yolanda–known internationally as “Haiyan”–was one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded. It barreled though the Philippines’ central islands in November 2013, and killed over 6,000 people.

It caused widespread damage, particularly in Leyte and Samar.

“Mahalaga ang tulong ng bawat isa sa atin. Ngayon kailangan ang bayanihan. Bawat kamay na tutulong, malaking kontribusyon sa pagbangon,” Speaker Romualdez said.

(Speaker’s office)

(Everyone’s help is important. This is the time for bayanihan. Each helping hand will contribute immensely to our recovery.)

On Thursday, Speaker Romualdez visited 3,000 affected families at the San Juan City Gym and distributed relief packs to each of them. Also distributed was P5,000 in financial aid under the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), as facilitated by the Office of the Speaker.

The Speaker then proceeded to Quezon City, where he led the distribution of 2,000 relief packs to flood victims in the Bagong Silangan New Evacuation Center and relief packs to 2,000 evacuees at the Diosdado Macapagal Elementary School in Barangay Tatalon.

The beneficiaries will also receive P5,000 in financial assistance under AKAP of the DSWD next week. In all these evacuation centers, Tingog Party-list provided hot meals to all affected families via Acidre’s Tingog Mobile Kitchen.