Duterte: NHA to give P100-M aid each to Odette-hit provinces

President Rodrigo Duterte said the National Housing Authority (NHA) would provide P100 million in aid to each of the provinces devastated by Typhoon Odette.

The NHA will give P100 million per province and the Department of the Interior and Local Government will supervise it "to make sure that everything goes smoothly," Duterte said in Cebu.

"The military and the police will be there to maintain peace and order. That’s the only reason, nothing else. They’re just there to ensure discipline so that government workers can do their job well," he added.

Duterte said the amount would be used to rebuild the houses of affected residents.

"It’s a good thing that the Housing (NHA) offered P100 million worth of building materials," he said in Cebuano. "The building materials are on their way. I think the Housing will be the one to distribute that, too."

"The first thing we provided is food for you to just survive, just to assure you that you will have food anytime. We won’t stop providing food for you. And with the money that you will receive, you can slowly get back up on your feet," the President said.

The Department of Budget and Management, meanwhile, released the initial P1 billion in financial assistance pledged by Duterte for response and recovery efforts in Odette-ravaged regions.

The financial assistance will cover affected local government units in Region IV-B (MIMAROPA), Region VI (Western Visayas), Region VII (Central Visayas), Region VIII (Eastern Visayas), Region X (Northern Mindanao), and Region XIII (Caraga), which were placed by the President under a state of calamity.

Duterte had spent the previous days visiting the typhoon-ravaged areas of Siargao, the Dinagat Islands, Negros Occidental, Palawan, and Cebu. — VBL, GMA News