Panayam kay Cagayan Vice Gov. Melvin Vargas Jr.
Halaga ng pinsala sa mga ari-arian sa Cagayan dahil sa mga nagdaang bagyo, inaasahang tataas pa
Halaga ng pinsala sa mga ari-arian sa Cagayan dahil sa mga nagdaang bagyo, inaasahang tataas pa
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NewsTranscript
00:00 One of the most severe cutbacks in the past week is the province of Cagayan.
00:05 Let's not talk about that. Let's ask for an update and how the province is doing.
00:09 We will talk to Vice Governor Melvin Vargas Jr.
00:13 Vice Gov, good morning. This is Audrey Guriceta with Dian Carrer of Rise and Shine Philippines. Good morning.
00:20 Sir Audrey, good morning to our listeners of Rise and Shine Philippines.
00:31 Good morning to our fellow provincemen of Cagayan.
00:36 Sir, how is your province now after the cutback of the Egy?
00:44 Yes. We are in the recovery period. Good news is that our countrymen in the evacuation centers and evacuees have returned to their homes.
01:01 There are areas like the municipality of Abulug in the downstream that has drained the water and our residents are also back home.
01:15 So far, everything is okay. The assistance from the national is also arriving, especially the food packs from the DSWP, as well as our reports on the damaged agricultural products.
01:33 The court has a report that was submitted to the Department of Agriculture.
01:39 No less than the President himself visited our province last weekend and this provided assistance for our countrymen.
01:50 Okay. Vice Gov, even though there are no more storms, we are still experiencing rains.
01:57 How is the assistance of LGU to the infrastructure or to our countrymen who are in need of assistance?
02:05 Yes. As of now, we are collecting the damaged houses that happened in the province of Cagayan.
02:12 So far, the province has declared under the state of calamity.
02:17 This is our requirement to release the 5 percent of our province's canality fund, where we can use it for agriculture.
02:27 At the same time, the houses that were damaged, we identified as provincial social welfare.
02:34 So we are continuing to provide assistance even though there are still a lot of homes that are in need.
02:40 Compare it to the hundreds of millions of homes that were damaged by the floods and houses in the province of Cagayan.
02:47 We hope that this will help, sir.
02:49 Sir, just one day ago, the estimated damage or damage in your area was more than P1 billion.
02:56 Is it still increasing? Are you still able to find any damage or damage from the floods?
03:04 I think, sir Audrey, this can still increase because the documents submitted are not enough.
03:13 The data comes from different municipalities and local government units.
03:19 So we expected that the report submitted by the province of Cagayan is not full.
03:28 So in my opinion, sir Audrey, this can still increase.
03:32 Okay. Sir, are there any other residents who are still in the evacuation center?
03:37 So far, sir, there are none.
03:40 There are only a few barangays in particular that are still in the evacuation center.
03:47 This is what happened to us during the Ekai flood.
03:51 But it's already counted, sir.
03:53 But when it comes to the people, the residents of Cagayan, they are all home.
04:00 Okay sir. Just one last question and we will end it.
04:03 Has the supply of electricity in all areas been restored?
04:08 It was restored, sir, a few days ago.
04:11 We commented on our electrical operative, where there was a noticeable improvement,
04:18 especially in areas in Daud City in particular, the first and second,
04:23 where there was a brownout because of the typhoon.
04:29 So far, sir, the report of the electrical operative as far as Santa Ana or as far as Sanchez Mira,
04:35 all of them restored their electricity in all areas, sir.
04:41 Vice Governor Vargas, good morning. This is Dianne Quirar.
04:45 Good morning.
04:47 Vice Governor, you mentioned that our farmers and fisher folks in Cagayan are highly affected.
04:54 What is your estimate of the damage to the agriculture sector, sir?
05:00 Yes. In our report, it reached hundreds of millions.
05:05 Maybe it didn't reach 100 million.
05:08 The only province in Cagayan is the rice granary of the north.
05:13 It's a first class agriculture province.
05:18 The farmers affected are our corn farmers.
05:24 Besides that, there are also fisher folks. That's one of our main source of income.
05:30 We have many fishermen here.
05:33 Their fishing nets were damaged and that's their source of livelihood.
05:40 Okay. We have a problem now sir in terms of supply. How is the pricing of the products there?
05:48 So far, we are monitoring the price in accordance with our SRP.
05:57 We are monitoring the price with the guidance of TTI.
06:02 So far, this is the real supply that we are paying later.
06:10 Nothing happened to increase the price of our basic commodities or to choose the price.
06:18 Okay. Sir regarding our affected farmers and fisher folks, what can we give them as their source of income is affected as of the moment?
06:29 Yes. Our provincial agriculture risk is identified where part of the calamity fund will give cash assistance.
06:40 That's what we are proving through declaring the province under the state of calamity.
06:46 At the same time, our two beloved presidents, President Bongbong Marcos,
06:53 have given assistance to the local government units that are affected.
06:59 We are concentrating on our national government on the farmers who are affected by the calamity.
07:12 At the same time, they have identified who will give individual social welfare.
07:19 Okay. We are looking forward to the rapid recovery in your province.
07:25 But Vice Gov, I'm different. On the issue of missing PCG personnel, do you have an update on this sir?
07:33 So far, our rescue operation is ongoing. This is what we are focusing on. We are trying to find out where they are.
07:48 As of yesterday, the operation is still ongoing. That's the report that was given to us by the government.
08:01 We pray that they will be found.
08:05 Vice Gov, this is your message to your constituents in Lalawigan. If you have additional calls, go ahead Vice Gov.
08:15 Yes. Thank you very much ma'am sir for the opportunity you gave me as the second head of the province of Cagayan.
08:23 I just want to tell my fellow citizens to be careful. Cagayan is known for having a lot of typhoons.
08:34 Because of our geographic location of the province of Cagayan, we should be careful when there is a typhoon coming to our town.
08:47 I know that our fellow citizens are prepared because local government units and barangay officials are not lacking.
08:59 They are always on guard. So our fellow citizens, if there is a typhoon, especially in low-lying areas,
09:06 you know where the evacuation will go. At the same time, we should be prepared especially when it comes to food.
09:13 That's why we are here in the province of Cagayan to stand up against the typhoon.
09:19 We are thankful to the various governments and agencies that helped the province of Cagayan during the earthquake and after the evacuation.
09:28 We are receiving help from various institutions and non-government organizations that are willing to help the province of Cagayan.
09:40 They are going to the provincial capital to provide assistance. Thank you very much and long live.
09:46 Thank you very much also for your time Vice Governor Melvin Vargas Jr. of Cagayan. Thank you Vice Gov.