Cebu City gov’t urged: Give financial aid to typhoon-affected farmers

Cebu City Councilor Rey Gealon | file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A Cebu City councilor has filed a resolution urging Mayor Michael Rama to immediately extend financial assistance to farmers from the city’s mountain barangays, who were affected by the torrential rains and landslides due to Typhoons Paeng and Queenie.

These barangays include Adlaon, Agsungot, Babag, Bonbon, Bu-ot, Cambinocot, Guba, Lusaran, Pamutan, Paril, Sudlon 2, Sirao, and Taptap.

Councilor Rey Gealon filed the resolution on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. It will be subject to approval during the city council’s next regular session on Wednesday, Nov. 16.

Gealon’s proposed resolution also asked the the City Agriculture Department to render further assistance (as may be necessary) to cover the insurance premiums for the crop insurance of qualified farmers in the city.

Gealon said this would ensure that the farmers would receive compensation during disasters and other natural calamities.

Quoting data from the City Agriculture Department, Gealon said Typhoon Paeng’s torrential rains and landslides devastated 53 hectares of agricultural land in the mountain barangays of Cebu City.

On Oct. 28, 2022, Pagasa placed Cebu City and other areas in Cebu under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1 because of Tropical Storm (TS) Paeng.

READ: DSWD-7 assists 250 individuals stranded in Cebu City ports due to Paeng

An initial assessment report from the department showed that the severely affected barangays were Adlaon, Agsungot, Babag, Bonbon, Bu-ot, Cambinocot, Guba, Lusaran, Pamutan, Paril, Sudlon 2, Sirao, and Taptap.

The damage included plantations of sweet corn, flowers, and vegetable plants, such as eggplant, tomato, pepper, lettuce, cabbage, spring onions, and cucumber.

“The Cebu City government has yet to extend financial assistance to our affected farmers by typhoon Paeng and Queenie, and there is no information or update on whether they were duly covered by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation,” read a portion of Gealon’s resolution.

“This 16th Cebu City council has approved during a special session last Aug. 12, 2022, a P50 million financial aid that Mayor Michael Rama promised to Province of Abra which was hit by earthquake last July 27, 2022…there is no plausible reason that the Cebu City government cannot extend financial assistance to its own farmers severely affected by typhoons Paeng and Queenie,” he said.

READ MORE:

Classes suspended in some areas in Cebu due to heavy rains brought by TS Paeng

Cebu City, other areas in northern and central Cebu placed under signal no. 1

Infrastructure damage due to Paeng exceeds P4.5 billion — NDRRMC

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