Masbate sends team to Catanduanes for Uwan relief efforts

By Ernie Delgado

MASBATE CITY --- A 25-member humanitarian mission from Masbate arrived in Catanduanes on Wednesday, the province hardest hit by Super Typhoon Uwan.

The team brought a water desalination machine capable of producing thousands of liters of potable water for distribution to residents, along with a power generator and a Starlink satellite internet system.

“Nagdala din po kami ng Starlink at power station upang ang mga tao sa Catanduanes ay makapag-charge at maka-contact sa labas ng Catanduanes gamit ang Starlink namin,” said team leader Ian Nicholas Bueno.

(We also brought Starlink and a power station so that people in Catanduanes can charge their devices and contact those outside the province using our Starlink.)

During the team’s courtesy call at the office of Governor Patrick Alain Azanza, Bueno mentioned that half of the team would carry out clearing operations to remove debris and uprooted trees blocking the roads.

The clearing crew brought a boom truck to remove fallen trees that had landed on the roofs of buildings, he said.

In the mission’s initial days, the Catanduanes Emergency Operations Center assigned the team to the towns of Baras and Bato. These two areas experienced power and network outages, as well as water scarcity, according to the City of Masbate Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

In a social media post, Masbate Governor Ricardo Kho said he and Masbate City Mayor Olga Kho dispatched the humanitarian mission to support the disaster responders in Catanduanes, given the extent of Uwan’s impact on the island province.

Masbate, which is just beginning to recover from the devastation caused by Typhoon Opong, had previously received humanitarian assistance from Catanduanes during the powerful cyclone that struck the province in late September. (PIA Bicol/Masbate)