Robredo: Food supply running scarce in Dinagat Islands due to Typhoon Odette

Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday called for immediate aid for Dinagat Islands over a reported scarce food supply in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette that hit the province.

"Kailangan na kailangan po ng Dinagat Islands yung tulong natin. Naiyak po kami paglapag palang namin nung nakita namin ang kalagayan nila. Wasak na wasak halos lahat pati ang provincial capitol na binisita palang namin two years ago (Dinagat islands need our help. We shed tears as soon as we arrived having seen what happened to them. The Provincial Capitol, which we visited two years ago, has been destroyed)," Robredo said in a statement.

"Paubos na daw po pagkain nila at wala mabili sa buong lalawigan kaya hindi po namin naabutan si Governor Kaka Bag-ao dahil pumunta siya sa Butuan para maghanap ng tulong. Wala pong kuryente, tubig at any means of communication (Their food supply is running short, you cannot buy food in Dinagat and we were not able to get in touch with their governor Bag-ao since she went to Butuan [City] to get help. There is no electricity, clean water and means of communication)," Robredo added.

Robredo said many roads in the province remain impassable due to fallen trees and electric posts, and that her team rode a motorcycle to go around and assess the damage.

"Pasensya na po at wala po kaming helmet. Naghanap naman po kami pero wala po silang mahanap at halos lahat daw po nilang gamit ay natangay na ng bagyo (I would like to apologize that we were not wearing a helmet. There 's no helmet available since those were also destroyed by the storm)," she said.

Robredo earlier visited other Odette-affected areas namely Bohol, Cebu, Surigao, Siargao and Southern Leyte to provide relief goods and for assessment of any further assistance amid the massive devastation.

The volunteer center of Robredo and her running mate, Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan for the 2022 elections had been converted to Odette relief operations headquarters in an effort to aid the victims of the storm which hit the country a week before Christmas Day. — Llanesca T. Panti/RSJ, GMA News