Roxas asks gov't agencies to speed up processing of benefits

Senator Mar Roxas has written the Home Development Mutual Fund (PAG-IBIG) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), asking both agencies to provide immediate assistance to their members who suffered enormous losses due to typhoon "Frank"

"Our government must now speed up the processing of the necessary documents so that the thousands of typhoon victims who have lost their homes, property and loved ones can receive some relief to help them rebuild their lives," said Roxas, a former representative of Capiz, which was among the provinces in the Western Visayas region that were ravaged by the storm.

He commended PAG-IBIG, which, in a reply to Roxas' office, has already committed to providing P1.5 billion worth of calamity loans for victims in Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo.

"I thank PAG-IBIG President Miro Quimbo for his responsiveness to my call for expeditious assistance to the typhoon victims. This will go a long way in helping them, and I hope other government offices follow suit," he said, adding that he will also seek the assistance of the Social Security System (SSS).

In the letter to the Senator, Quimbo said he has instructed the PAG-IBIG branches to accept and expedite processing of calamity loans in the Western Visayas provinces.

Roxas, Liberal Party President, called on the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Health (DoH) to provide on-site assistance and coordinate directly with those affected by the typhoon.

The Senator has paid multiple visits to the stricken areas, coordinating relief and rehabilitation efforts, and providing people with basic needs such as food, water and medicines. Several donors from the private sector have also responded to the senator's call for relief goods such as candles, sardines, juice drinks, noodles and bottled water to help the victims.

"The destruction and mounting number of casualties because of typhoon 'Frank' is heartbreaking. We all need to pitch in and help to give rays of hope to those affected by the storm and floods," he said.

Latest reports have pegged the death toll nationwide from "Frank" at 498, of which 416 were from Western Visayas. With regards to the sinking of the M/V Princess of the Stars, there have been 124 found dead, 62 survivors, and over 600 more still missing.

The total number of displaced people has been pegged at 2.4 million people, or about 2.7% of the country's population, with 1.4 million of these from Western Visayas. 487,412 families nationwide were displaced, and damages have been estimated at P5.5 billion. P2 billion of this accrues from damage to farm lands and infrastructure in Western Visayas.