Bohol still without water, power, communication lines —governor

Two weeks after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette, Bohol Governor Arthur Yap on Thursday said most areas in the province still have no power and water supply, as well as access to communication lines.

At the Laging Handa briefing, Yap lamented the difficulty of the situation in the province, comparing it to aftermath of super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013.

“We are on day 14 of post-Odette operations. Napakahirap ng dinaranas namin dito sa lalawigan kasi parang mala-Yolanda talaga" [We are still reeling from Odette's impact, like we were in 2013 after Yolanda], he said.

According to Yap, the province is still in “blackout” as two towers of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) in Ubay are still down.

“Hindi kami mabigyan ng exact date kung kailan nila maibabalik o maire-repair" (The NGCP cannot give an exact date for the repair of the towers)” he said.

He added that they will just wait if the December 31 target to restore partial power supply will be met.

Without power, Yap pointed out that water refilling stations cannot operate. He added that many affected residents need water.

The provincial government has yet to reach over 20 municipalities due to communication services problems in their areas.

Due to this, Yap again called on the national government for augmentation as the provincial government’s disaster funds are already depleted.

He also appealed to the water and power supply sectors, as well as telecommunications firms to speed up the restoration of their services. —LBG, GMA News