President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday pledged that the rehabilitation of heritage sites and structures damaged by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Cebu province will follow, amid the relief and recovery efforts.
Marcos made the commitment, after Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco told him in a situation briefing in Bogo City, Cebu, that the strong quake had caused significant damage to several establishments and heritage sites, affecting over 900 workers.
“We do it in phases. We start with the search and rescue, then we go on to the relief. Then, there is the rehabilitation, and that includes the heritage areas, etc. that have been damaged,” he said during the situation briefing with local officials and heads of concerned government agencies to assess the impact of the recent earthquake in the province.
“Wala namang naging ligtas dito sa paglindol (No one was completely spared from the earthquake). This is not the end of this. This is an ongoing operation. We will keep going until everybody is more or less – hindi naman natin masasabi that everybody, makakabalik na sa dating normal, but or more or less nakakapasok na sila sa trabaho, kaya na nilang makapagpagamot, meron na silang nakakain, meron na silang tinitirhan (we can’t really say everyone will be able to return to how things used to be — but at least more or less, they are able to go back to work, they can afford medical care, they have food to eat, they have a place to live).”
During his visit to Bogo City, Marcos inspected severely damaged structures and visited the earthquake victims.
The Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish Church of St. Vicente Ferrer in Bungtod village, which collapsed following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake, was among the sites Marcos visited.
The President also visited collapsed housing units at SM Cares Village in Polambato village; the damaged City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy in Cogon village; and the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Taytayan village.
Marcos reiterated his directive to concerned government agencies to ensure the immediate delivery of assistance to affected communities.
