(Photo courtesy of OPAV) CEBU CITY - A humanitarian flight arrived in typhoon-stricken Cebu on Friday morning, bringing relief goods, hygiene kits, and water from several donors and sponsors. The latest "bayanihan" effort brought together several groups of companies and foundations to join hands to bring donated goods to Cebu on the last day of 2021. The flight was made possible by the MVP group composed of Maynilad, Meralco and other companies, One Meralco Foundation, Philippine Airlines and its foundation, GMA, Makati Medical Center, PTT Philippines, and Chevron Philippines, among others. PAL provided the aircraft and personnel while PTT and Chevron sponsored the jet fuel used by the aircraft. Makati Med and Maynilad Water Services brought hygiene kits and two tons of water while GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc. brought relief goods. The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), represented by Undersecretary Anthony Gerard "Jonji" Gonzales, accepted
CLEARING THE STREETS. This Dec. 27, 2021 photo shows a row of garbage at Sabellano St., in Barangay Kinasang-an, Cebu City. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Central Visayas will closely supervise Metro Cebu localities in clearing debris and garbage left by Typhoon Odette for faster restoration of power lines.(PNA photo by John Rey Saavedra) CEBU CITY - The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Central Visayas (Region 7) will closely supervise Metro Cebu localities in discarding waste left by Typhoon Odette. In a statement on Friday, Undersecretary Anthony Gerard Gonzales of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) said the DILG-7 and its provincial and city directors were receptive to the request from the OPAV to supervise road clearing operations in Metro Cebu. The move, he said, will ensure compliance with the directive to fast track road clearing operations and hasten the restoration of power lines destroyed by
FUND FOR RECOVERY. President Rodrigo Duterte (left) interacts with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia during a command conference at the Gen. Benito Ebuen Air Base in Lapu-Lapu City on Thursday night (Dec 23, 2021). Duterte announced that he is allocating PHP10 billion for the relief and reconstruction works in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette. (Photo courtesy of OPAV) CEBU CITY - President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged a PHP10-billion fund for the relief and reconstruction efforts of the provinces badly hit by Typhoon Odette. Each province will receive PHP100 million, to be divided by the component cities and municipalities. The fund came from the different government agencies. Duterte made the announcement Thursday night during a command conference with officials, including the military, at the Gen. Benito Ebuen Air Base in Lapu-Lapu City, as he visited Cebu for the second time since the onslaught of the typhoon on Thursday last week. The President visited Cebu on Sunday after the typhoon a
'ODETTE' AFTERMATH. Motorists are seen passing beneath a utility pole along Sabellano St., Kinasang-an in Cebu City which was felled by Typhoon Odette that struck Cebu province on Thursday night (Dec. 16, 2021). On Monday, the Visayan Electric Co., Metro Cebu's main power distribution firm, said it has so far energized Cebu City's "lifeline" areas such as hospitals and water pump stations. (PNA photo by John Rey Saavedra) CEBU CITY - The Visayan Electric Company, Inc. (VECO) said it has energized the city's major lifeline areas to light up hospital zones and water pumping stations using 18 megawatts (MW) of power supply days after the major outages caused by Typhoon Odette. In a statement on Monday, the firm said power is back in a portion of V. Rama Avenue and B. Rodriguez Street, where the regional hospital Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) is situated. The supply came from the Cebu Private Power Corporation (CPPC). "We would like to emp
CEBU ART FAIR. Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino (right), Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia (center), and Cebu 3rd District Rep. Pablo John Garcia check out some of the art pieces exhibited at the ongoing 1st Visayas Art Fair held at the Montebello Hotel in Cebu City on Thursday (Nov. 25, 2021). The art fair that will run until Sunday features about 1,000 artworks from more than 400 Filipino artists. (Photo courtesy of PJ Garcia) CEBU CITY - About a thousand artworks from more than 400 artists in the Visayas and the National Capital Region (NCR) are being showcased at the ongoing 1st Visayas Art Fair dubbed as "ArTabang 4". In a statement on Friday, the Sacred Heart School for Boys Batch 1985 Foundation said they organized the ArTabang 4 as a unique silent art auction where bids are written on the title card and the bid sheets that are on the table next to each piece. The bids can also be submitted off-site by calling or sending a text message