ANGELES CITY- Despite being the most agriculturally damaged by the monsoon floods in Central Luzon, Pampanga has enough rice stocks to replenish any shortages in other provinces in the region.
Shortage of medicines, however, has been reported in the affected areas in the region where health services remained devolved under local government units, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
The DTI also said that manufactured goods, including canned sardines and noodles, have remained aplenty in flooded areas.
National Food Authority (NFA) provincial chief Elvira Obana said in a press conference called by the DTI that warehouses of her agency in the region have about 1.7 million cavans, including 300,000 cavans stored in eight NFA warehouses in Pampanga.
“We have already milled all the palay stocks from Pampanga. There can’t be any shortage,” she said, noting that her agency sells rice for P1,350 per cavan on credit or P1,250 cash.
This, even as Obana urged those engaged in relief operations to distribute NFA’s iron- fortified rice or “I-rice” to the victims, instead of providing them with less nutritious foods.
The I-rice program was temporarily shelved when the Aquino government took over after it was found out that it costs P1 to fortify a kilo of NFA rice with iron and other micronutrients.
This, however, was revived last year amid prodding from the National Nutrition Council (NNC) which claimed that IFR was succeeding in reducing malnutrition among pupils served by the council.
Obana noted that iron keeps the liver functioning adequately apart from improving the immune system by fighting against the harmful activities of free radicals.
“Most of the agencies and people engaged in relief operations in Central Luzon have been purchasing I-rice from us,” she said.
Representatives of the Department of Health (DOH) failed to attend the press conference, but DTI regional director Bles Lantayona cited reports that while there have been no food shortages in the monsoon-affected areas in Central Luzon, there were reports of medicine shortages.
But Dr. Evelyn David, head of the DOH’s regional emergency management staff (HEMS) said that health services have continued to be devolved under local government units.
“The DOH merely augments and provides other assistance,” she said, noting that already, her regional office has provided more than P2.9 million worth of medicines for the flooded areas.
The Philippine Information Agency quoted the DOH’s Center for Health Development in Central Luzon as saying it has distributed P2,194,687.94 worth of drugs and medicines to flood victims.
“Drugs distributed include doxycyline to prevent leptospirosis and medicines for colds, cough, fever and other common illness,” DOH regional director Leonita Gorgolon was quoted to have said.
The DOH had deployed Medical Response Teams (MRTs) to flooded barangays in Central Luzon.
“MRTs are organized to assess different evacuation centers and damage to affected health facilities and other public health activities since the onset of the monsoon rains last week,” Gorgolon said.
“MRTs include doctors, nurses and sanitary engineers who conduct rapid assessment of the situation in evacuation centers and assist local health officials in rendering health services to the evacuees such as supplemental immunization, health education and consultations,” she added.
The DOH said there were still 46 evacuation centers in the province of Bulacan, 29 in Tarlac and 25 in Pampanga.
Meanwhile, DTI provincial officials in flooded areas in Central Luzon reported no panic-buying of essentials goods in their areas and that supply of these goods has remained stable.
“Many supermarkets and groceries have enough supply and their inventory is enough to last another 15 days or even more,” said DTI-Zambales officer Leny Baluyut.
At the same time, partial reports received by the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) said that in Central Luzon, the fisheries sector reported the biggest loss of P691.63 million due to damaged fishponds and fish cages.
Pampanga was hardest hit with P601.067 million in losses, followed by Bulacan with P72.67 million and Zambales with P17.89 million.
The crops in the three provinces were also devastated by the massive flooding with an estimated P371.75 million losses.
Incomplete reports on damages in the rice crops was pegged at P371.27 million in the region, with Pampanga sustaining the most losses at P233.98 million; Bulacan at P121.54 million and Zambales at P15.75 million.
Corn crops worth P76.74 million was also reported in Pampanga.
Damage to high-value crops such as vegetables in the three provinces totaled at P22.27 million with Pampanga losing P11.97 million; Bulacan, P7.89 million; and Zambales, P2.41 million.
Damage to livestock was placed at P10.25 million in the three provinces, with an estimated loss of P7.57 million in Zambales, followed by P2.45 million in Bulacan and P288,500 in Pampanga.
