Bulacan to send medical team to typhoon hit areas

MALOLOS CITY—Bulacan is sending a 54-man medical team to coastal towns of Leyte and Samar in an effort to assist victims of typhoon Yolanda which has not be reached by humanitarian groups and other government agencies.

Governor Wilhelmino Alvarado said the medical team will be composed of 24 doctors and 24 nurses from 21 towns and three cities of the province, along with six medical specialists from the Bulacan medical center.

The said team will leave Bulacan on Sunday, along with relief goods collected from Bulakenyos and will be delivered to victims of typhoon Yolanda.

The governor said that the medical team and relief goods will be transported using a ship owned by a member of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA).

The said ship will also serve as temporary residence and clinic of the medical teams as there is hardly a hotel to accommodate them in the typhoon hit areas.

“Our medical team will ride along with the first batch of PMA members that will be sent to the coastal towns of Leyte and Samar,” he said.

Alvarado explained that many coastal towns of Samar and Leyte are still to be reached by humanitarian groups and government personnel delivering assistance and relief goods.

With regards to relief goods, Alvarado called on Bulakenyos to bring their donations to the provincial capitol in this city, where a donation center was established since Tuesday.

However, he drew flak when asked in a live interview by Radyo Bulacan on how much will be the pledge of the provincial government to victims of calamity in the Visayas.

Alvarado answered,” hindi na ninyo dapat alamin kung magkano ang ibibigay ng kapitolyo.”

He then said that the provincial government will spend money for the medicines and other supplies that will be used by the medical team, but did not specified the amount.

Alvarado also said that for the victims of typhoon Sendong in Mindanao in 2011, they collected a total P1.5-Million donation from Bulakenyos, and the provincial government gave a total of P2.5-Million as counterpart.

Despite the governor’s recitation of facts from previous relief efforts of Bulacan, Bulakenyo social media users demanded transparency on the amount that the provincial government will spend.

Some noted that the funds of the provincial government are actually peoples’ money and the government must account for every cent spent.