BY ARGYLL GEDUCOS
Malacañang has assured residents of quake-stricken Masbate that help is forthcoming but reminded them to still observe social distancing if they are staying in evacuation centers.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after a 6.6-magnitude quake shook the island of Masbate on Tuesday, followed by a magnitude 5.2 aftershock early Wednesday.
In an interview with CNN Philippines Wednesday morning, Roque assured the people of Masbate that help is ready for them.
“We’d like to assure our Masbateño brothers and sisters that help has been prepositioned and further assistance is on the way,” he said.
“We’re talking of food packs, bottled water, blankets, things that they would need in resettlement areas,” he added.
According to Roque, the Palace already has a direct line with the local government of Masbate, especially in Cataingan where the quake was felt the strongest.
“The coordination effort to deliver what is needed by the residents of Cataingan is in full blast,” he said.
“Whatever help Masbate needs is forthcoming,” he added.
Roque reminded affected residents, especially those who were forced to stay in evacuation centers to still practice social distancing. He said there will be manpower deployed to ensure that COVID-19 protocols are followed.
Even though Masbate has a low number of COVID-19 cases, Roque said residents should not be complacent.
“One thing going for Masbate is that they have low cases of COVID-19 but nonetheless, they should not be too complacent,” he said.
Based on the COVID-19 tracker of the Department of Health (DoH), Masbate has recorded 143 cases of COVID-19 as of August 18, 59 of which are active cases.
Roque, meanwhile, is unsure if President Duterte will be able to visit the residents of the quake-hit area. He, however, said Duterte would want to go there.
“The President would want to go but I don’t know if he can actually go because of restrictions on his movement right now,” he said. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)
