Mondejar seeks clearer reasons of Frank's widespread devastation
Typhoon Frank has since left Iloilo's area of responsibility with the national and local government's rehabilitation efforts still in full-swing.
Yet for Second District Board Member June Mondejar, the fact that the reasons for 'Frank's' massive devastation still unclear to many, it merits clear answers.And immediately too.
Subject of a privilege speech Tuesday, Mondejar stressed it is a "cause that we must know."
With over a month since the typhoon hit Iloilo and Panay Island, Mondejar acknowledged that had surge of floodwaters occurred during the night, the effects would have been "more horrifying."
"Typhoon Frank has unluckily produced many casualties… damage to agriculture is estimated to reach hundreds of millions of pesos.Hectares of crops and hectares of fishponds were damaged.Poultries and live stocks were not also spared," Mondejar said while noting significant damage in infrastructure works in his district. "Although it's been one month now, some of the living victims have not fully recovered and the damages are still not totally restored or rehabilitated despite of the coming-in of aids from domestic and international sources, despite of appreciable assistance from the government, non-government and religious organizations and from benevolent individuals."
All these, he continued, made him ask 'why.'
"People are now asking, we are now asking, why there was such a phenomenal flash flood of silty water with a depth of as high as 4 meters in some areas and as high as 6 meters in areas of much lower elevation.Why there were heavy logs of which diameter is ranging from 60-100cm, riding on the raging waters, some of which unfortunately hit and destroyed some of our bridges?," he asked."There are so many speculations."
As such, Mondejar called on the Provincial Board's collective action to know the "cause or the elements that triggered this phenomenal flash flood so that we could effectively plan out, in coordination with other agencies of the government as to what we should have to do to prevent, hopefully it could be prevented, or to temper its negative effects to the people…"