This comes a day after his visit to the affected communities.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, August 25, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has extended PHP220 million in special financial assistance to flood-hit communities in Central Luzon.
“Namahagi si Pangulong Marcos Jr. ng aabot sa 220 million special financial assistance mula sa Office of the President na gagamitin upang tugunan ang pangangailangan ng mga binahang residente,” Castro said, noting that the assistance will help local governments address the immediate needs of residents and sustain ongoing disaster response efforts.
The Palace official also noted that the provincial governments of Pampanga, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Zambales have each received PHP30 million.
Meanwhile, specific to the municipalities of Calumpit and Hagonoy in Bulacan, they each received PHP15 million, with PHP10 million allocated for Aurora.
“Satisfied naman ang Pangulo sa naging pagtugon ng pamahalaan noong kasagsagan ng sama ng panahon sa Central Luzon,” she also noted on the President’s reaction to the response of the provincial and local governments.
Meanwhile, in light of what has happened, the President is also pushing for the immediate repair of damaged infrastructure in the areas to address flooding.
On top of those, the government will also pursue declogging, desilting, and dredging operations.
The construction of five dams along the Sabo River in Nueva Ecija is also being studied as one of the long-term solutions, with another proposal being a 100-kilometer dike extendinf to Pilar, Bataan to address water coming from Manila Bay.
“Patuloy din ang pagmomonitor sa mga ito upang masiguro ang tibay at bisa ng mga proyekto,” Castro added.
On Monday, August 24, President Marcos condubceted an aerial inspection of flood-affected areas in Bulacan and Pampanga and sat down with the provincial government of the latter province, where he was briefed about the situation.
In Pampanga alone, over 1 million individuals were affected by the flooding brought about by the heavy rainfall caused by the successive weather disturbances.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has reported the provision of PHP243.37 million worth of assistance to affected families.
It also made available P2.63 million in standby funds and 127,947 family food packs at its regional office in Central Luzon.
For its part, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had been conducting maintenance and declogging operations in drainage systems and waterways in Pampanga.
Marcos also visited an evacuation center in Bacolor, Pampanga, where he interacted with residents and observed the distribution of cash assistance.
