The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has confirmed that 19 people died – while validating an additional 11 deaths – from the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Maring.
Most of the deaths are attributed to drowning and landslides.
The number of confirmed missing persons was placed at 13 — one from Ilocos Norte; three from Ilocos Sur; one from Pangasinan; three from La Union; and five from Palawan,
So far, the storm has affected 673 villages in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Caraga, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Affected families are estimated at 50,040, equivalent to 194,677 persons.
Of this number, 1,775 families or around 7,370 individuals are being aided in 124 evacuation centers while the remainder has either gone home or are being sheltered by families and friends.
Houses damaged were placed at 325 in Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Caraga, and the CAR.
Damage to agriculture was estimated at around P1.09 billion in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, and CAR.
Meanwhile, infrastructure damage was estimated at P66.4 million in Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, and CAR.
Meanwhile, Senator Cynthia Villar cited the need for Filipino farmers to receive cash assistance.
Based on the latest data from the Department of Agriculture, typhoon Maring had affected 29,063 farmers and fishers, with a volume of production loss at 36,354 metric tons and damaged 32,882 hectares of agricultural areas.
Aside from the latest typhoon, Villar noted that the low palay prices and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic saw the need to provide financial assistance to farmers whose lives and income were also severely affected by these challenges.
The Cash Assistance to Filipino Rice Farmers Act of 2020 that would benefit over 1.673 million small rice farmers is still awaiting the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Villar, chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Food Committee, initiated the move to institutionalize the giving to the rice farmers the excess collections from the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund collection of the Bureau of Customs.
“The Cash Assistance for Filipino Rice Farmers Act of 2020 recommends that any amount in excess of the P10-B RCEF collection by the BOC shall automatically be given as cash assistance to rice farmers who are tilling 2 hectares or less of rice land, which is estimated at 1.673 million as listed in the Registry System of Basic Sectors,” said Villar.
