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PRESIDENT Arroyo visited some 500 relatives of the
victims of MV Princess of the Stars at the Cebu City
Sports Center on Wednesday.
President Arroyo and some Cabinet officials and local
executives joined the relatives in a Mass before she
individually met the families.
The
President gave P10,000 cash assistance to each of the 30
families of the victims at the sports center.
The
President went to Cebu City after leading the 61st
anniversary celebration of the Philippine Air Force at
the Mactan Airbase in nearby Lapu-Lapu City.
As of
Wednesday afternoon, close to 180 cadavers have been
taken to Cebu City by Sulpicio Lines.
The
cadavers were brought to the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes.
At the
action center at the sports center, the main activity
shifted from identifying cadavers to processing of
documents for claimants and the next of kin.
As of
Wednesday afternoon, only five families have completed
their documents and could now claim the P200,000 from
Sulpicio Lines.
Meanwhile, at least 10 towns in the province of Iloilo
and other rural areas on the island of Panay received
relief and medical support from the Philippine Amusement
and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) on Monday as it responded to
the call of the President to help the victims of Typhoon
Frank in Western Visayas.
Sacks of
relief packs containing rice, canned goods and instant
noodles poured in to heavily affected communities in
Iloilo and the nearby province of Aklan under the
Sagip-Tulong ni PGMA, a relief-giving effort being
spearheaded by Pagcor along with other government
agencies.
Thousands of typhoon victims in the said areas were also
given timely medical attention as medical volunteers
from the state-run gaming firm flew in from Manila to
conduct free consultations and distribute free
medicines.
Among
the Iloilo towns that benefited from the Sagip-Tulong ni
PGMA program were Pavia and Mina, which bore the brunt
of the typhoon.
According to Pagcor Chairman Efraim Genuino, the
state-run gaming firm received instructions from the
Chief Executive to stand at the forefront in the
delivery of various services to the victims of Typhoon
Frank.
Social
Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral, at the same time,
assured the public that the Department of Social Welfare
and Development continues to address the needs of the
victims of Typhoon Frank, as well as the survivors and
families of the missing passengers of MV Princess of the
Stars.
Cabral
said the DSWD has set up 24 hours-seven-days-a-week
social-welfare inquiry desks at the Sulpicio Lines
offices in North Harbor, Port Area, Manila; Abellana
Sports Complex, Cebu City; and in the towns of Claveria,
Masbate, San Pascual, and Pasacao, Camarines Sur.
Critical
incident stress debriefing is also being done to the
family members and relatives of the victims in these
areas. CISD is a psychosocial intervention given to
victims of traumatic incidents to lessen the impact of
the trauma by expressing their emotions, Cabral
explained. |
