Some 2,894 town residents whose houses were destroyed by Typhoon Odette in December last year packed the town’s covered court and cultural center.
Each of them received P5,000.
Isabela Mayor Irene Montilla said that the municipal government listed 14,000 residents affected by the typhoon which wreaked havoc in the southern part of Negros Occidental.
Montilla, however, said that not all of those who were listed were validated which caused the numerous complaints.
She said that another reason why many of her constituents were not included in the final list is the fact that Isabela was never put under a state of calamity by the Sanggunian Bayan.
Montilla lamented that the town council, majority of whom belonged to the rival political camp, did not declare a state of calamity despite a resolution passed by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council.
“The national government only gave a small amount of financial help to our town,” the mayor said, adding that they only received P2.7 million while other localities received at least P40 million in aid.
As to the complaints of non-inclusion in the financial aid, she stressed, “it is [also] up to the Department of Social Welfare and Development to answer it.”
Many of the affected residents have already received help from both the private and government sectors earlier, she said, adding that they divided it depending on the available resources because they can’t accommodate all of them.
Among the donations received by the municipal government included galvanized iron sheets, food supplies and packs.
They also got donations from Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri and Joel Villanueva through Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.
“There were just too many who were affected. We can’t afford to give everyone,” the mayor explained.