Hungry typhoon victims beg for food
NEW BATAAN: Desperate families begged for food on Sunday, days after a typhoon brought death and destruction to parts of Mindanao, as the storm returned to the north of the country.

Northern areas escaped with heavy rain after the storm weakened. But scenes of hardship were everywhere in southern areas that last week felt the full fury of the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year.

Officials said that 548 people are confirmed dead, most of them in the southern island of Mindanao.

Civil defense chief Benito Ramos said that the number of missing had shot up to 827 from previous figures of 500 unaccounted for, after reports of more missing fishermen came in.

In the Mindanao mountain town of New Bataan, Compostela Valley, which took the brunt of the typhoon, families lined the roads holding signs begging for food.

“Have mercy on us, please donate,” read one sign held by a group of ragged kids.

“We need food,” read another sign displayed by a group standing amid ruined banana plantations.

Farmer’s wife Madeline Blanco, 36, said that her family was trying to make do while sheltering in a tent on a basketball court.

“We were given rations but it was not enough. Just rice, bread and noodles. It is not enough for me and my four children,” she told Agence France-Presse.

“All we can do is wait for donations. There are cars passing by and sometimes drivers give us something,” she said.

Another farmer’s wife, Emma Toledo, 59, complained that the relief supplies from the national government had yet to arrive.

“We have not been given anything yet. Only the local government and the village officials gave us something, just some rice, noodles and dried fish,” said the mother of three.

Drivers of private vehicles also handed out donations but the lack of coordination led to more confusion.

When a truck from a local power company arrived to distribute relief supplies, it was mobbed by hungry villagers and many children were almost trampled in the chaos.

“I’ve been here for a long time. I am hungry and my children need food,” one angry woman yelled as she pushed her way to the front.

A regional civil defense operations officer, Antonio Cloma, said that many relief agencies, both government and non-government, were entering the area with supplies for typhoon victims.

“The government is doing its best to support the requirements for these victims,” he insisted.

P8.5B loss
The damage caused by the typhoon on the farm sector has reached an astounding P8.5 billion, with the brunt on value crops like banana and coconut, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said that the banana industry suffered P5.704 billion in losses, while the coconut industry lost P766 million.

Alcala said that the sight of fallen banana trees was heart-rending. He added that over a million coconut trees were also destroyed by the typhoon.

The rice and corn sector also suffered “considerable” damage at P177 million and P245 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, losses in the fisheries sector reached P28 million, livestock and poultry at P393 million, fisheries infrastructure at P24 million; post-harvest equipment at P1.2 million and irrigation facilities, P1.16 million.

The National Food Authority reported that P19.7 million worth of rice buffer stocks was lost after two warehouses were destroyed by the winds and heavy rains. Damage to agriculture will rise further since reports from Region IV-B, particularly in the provinces of Mindoro Occidental and Palawan, have yet to come in.

Alcala said that they have prepared various intervention plans for affected farmers in Mindanao and Visayas, as well as corn farmers in Ilocos region, which was also hit by Typhoon Pablo (international codename: Bopha).

The Agriculture chief said that the government will provide certified rice and corn seeds to farmers whose crops have no chance of recovery.

With reports from James Konstantin Galvez and William B. Depasupil