Congressmen To Donate Portion Of Their Salaries For Batanes Quake Victims
BATANES – Congressmen agreed to donate some of his/her salary to the poor victims of the Batanes earthquake.
On Saturday, July 27, 2019, Itbayat, Batanes was hit by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake around 7:38 in the morning. The powerful earthquake destroyed several houses and establishment.
In a report, Mayor Raul De Sagon said several people had died after the strong shake in the island. He said most of the victims were buried inside their houses. The patients in their hospital were also transferred to the town plaza.
Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte visited the island and talked with some officials. The 74-year-old chief executive promised to allot P40 million for the victims of the Batanes quake and the construction of their new hospital.
“I’ll give you the P40 million. I hope you put it to good use,” Duterte said.
Based on a report from CNN Philippines, some lawmakers agreed to donate some of their salaries to the victims of the Batanes quake.
The disaster management officials said the powerful quake destroyed two schools, 15 houses, and two health facilities. All the damage is worth P47 million.
House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said they have been doing this kind of practice each time the country suffers a deadly natural disaster.
“This voluntary effort on the part of the congressmen to contribute has been done in the past through salary deduction. This has been initiated for the benefit of the casualties’ loved ones and injured residents of Batanes,” said Romualdez.
According to the report, P5,000 will be deducted on the minimum salary to each of the 300 members of the House of Representatives. The lawmakers could raise 1,500,000 pesos during payday for the Batanes quake victims.
On Monday, they passed a House Resolution 139 urging the government agencies to quicken the delivery of assistance to areas affected by earthquakes.
What can you say about this article? Leave your comment and reactions below.
