Baguilat urges declaration of Cordi as calamity area

By Aiza Liza Namingit 

Ifugao Representative Teddy Brawner Baguilat has called on the government to declare the Cordillera Administrative Region as a calamity area to hasten the delivery of services and assistance to immediately get the area back on its feet.

Baguilat said casualties due to the onslaught of Typhoon Lando have been limited, thanks to the extensive preparation of the disaster risk reduction and management groups at all levels of government, from the local to the provincial and the national.

However, there has been extensive damage to property, infrastructure and agriculture. And considering that almost all of the residents of Ifugao depend on agriculture for their livelihood, damage to their plots and crops, especially the rice terraces, means a severe blow to their finances from which it will take time to recover.

Baguilat said the extensive damage to property in the Cordillera magnifies the importance of the passage of key bills such as the National Land Use Act and the Forest Resources Act, saying that with better care for the environment, damage caused by natural disasters would be mitigated.

Baguilat has yet to get the complete report on the true extent of the damage caused by super typhoon Lando, but as of the latest report, three towns have been isolated due to landslides and road slips. Crops in some parts of Alfonso Lista were damaged, so were rice terraces in the towns of Hungduan and Banaue, both heritage sites and tourism areas.

“We are still assessing the damage, but this early, we are calling for help, not just for Ifugao but for the other provinces in CAR,” said Baguilat.