Marcos Inspects Isolated Zambales Village, Pledges Reconstruction Aid

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, September 2, visited residents of Barangay Sta. Fe in San Marcelino, Zambales, checking on their needs and pledging government assistance for a long-term solution to the problem of accessing the isolated village. The president was accompanied in the inspection by Secretary Vince Dizon of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Secretary Rex Gatchalian of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Secretary Sonny Angara of the Department of Education. Local officials led by Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., 1st District Representative Jefferson Khonghun, and 2nd District Representative Doris Maniquiz met the presidential party at Sta. Fe, along with residents. During the visit, President Marcos surveyed the extent of damage in the barangay, including the flooded barangay hall and multipurpose hall, school, and a breached portion of the dike along the lahar-filled Sto. Tomas-Marella River. Governor Ebdane said Marcos gave the assurance that Sta. Fe will rise again with concerted efforts from the national government and its agencies in tandem with local government units. During the visit, the DSWD distributed family food packs to the affected residents, while DepEd gave away 10 laptops to teachers at the Sta. Fe National High School (SFNHS) to help them with school work. San Marcelino Mayor Elvis Soria said some 90 high school students of the SFNHS are currently learning through a modular scheme after the school facilities were flooded. Sta. Fe, located about eight kilometers northeast of the town proper, became isolated on August 9 when the river overflowed and swept away the bridge connecting its northern and southern areas, trapping some 1,000 residents up north. A temporary wooden bridge, which the president crossed during his visit, was recently erected across the river to connect the community and facilitate resupply. Prior to this, food supplies and other basic items were ferried across the river on backhoes. Soria said earlier that an alternative route is being considered to connect Barangay Sta. Fe to Barangay Omaya in San Narciso town as a long-term measure to save the isolated barangay. Aside from damages to the barangay hall and the village high school, a 150-meter protective dike on the north side of Sta. Fe has been destroyed by a strong current, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) said in its August 26 situation report. As a result, six houses near the riverbank were buried in lahar and mud, while some P147,000 worth of aquaculture facilities in the village were destroyed, the MDRRMO added.