ANGELEÑOS PARA KARENG BATANGUEÑOS. Mayor Carmelo ‘Pogi’ Lazatin Jr. personally inspects relief goods set to be delivered to Batangas areas affected by Taal eruption. Contributed Photo
ANGELES CITY – Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin personally led a “Angelenos Para Karing Batanguenos” aid caravan Wednesday to the areas affected by the Taal Volcano eruptions.
The convoy of four trucks and 12 passenger vehicles carried relief goods and hygiene packs, as well as a medical team and social workers, rescue and search personnel, and volunteers from the city government to help residents of Lipa City and the towns of Tuy and Balayan.
“May mga dala po tayong bigas, canned goods, toiletries, lahat po ng dinonate satin ng mga kababayan natin dito sa Angeles City, dadalhin po natin sa kanila,” Lazatin said before their departure.
According to the mayor, Angeles City is ready to extend its helping hand to the victims, mindful of “the devastation the city experienced during the Mt. Pinatubo eruptions in 1991.”
“Ito po ay isa lamang bagay na gusto naming suklian. Nadaanan po namin ang nararanasan ninyo ngayon, kaya kung ano pa pong tulong ang maibibigay namin sa inyo, mga kapatid naming Batangueno, handang- handa po ang siyudad ng Angeles na tumulong sa inyo,” he said.
The city’s medical team were set to conduct free check-ups to the families and provide medicines to those found with ailments.
“In dire need, we Filipinos must stand as one to help one another. Pasensya na po kayo, ito lang po ang nakakayanan namin sa ngayon. Kung marami pa pong darating sa siyudad namin, huwag po kayong mag-alala babalikan po namin kayo,” Lazatin promised the evacuees.
This, even as he cited the generosity of his constituents in sharing their resources to help the victims of the Taal eruptions, “even before the city made public its appeal for donations.”
“Dahil po sa pagkakaisa ng bawat Angeleño, nakapagpadala po tayo ng tulong sa mga kapatid nating Batangueños. Salamat po sa inyong lahat,” he said.
Helping other communities in distress has been a hall mark of Lazatin’s mayorship.
Only last December, the city government handed over relief goods and a cash donation of P500,000 each to 10 municipalities in North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Davao Del Sur, which were severely affected by the strong successive earthquakes in October.
