Presidential aspirants Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Manny Pacquiao have joined forces in heeding to the needs of the people affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.
This comes after Pacquiao took on social media to appeal to his fellow presidential aspirants to “set aside all politics and join together all our resources to help our fellow Filipinos in Visayas and Mindanao” who were affected by the typhoon.
"I appeal to my fellow candidates, VP Leni Robredo, Bongbong Marcos, Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, Senator Ping Lacson, Ka Leody, that due to the devastation of typhoon Odette that we set aside all politics and join together all our resources to help our fellow Filipinos in Visayas and Mindanao," he said.
"Magsama-sama tayo upang tulungan ang ating mga kababayan na nasalanta ng bagyo. Now is the time to come together as one. Tulungan natin sila," he continued.
Robredo, who has been spearheading the relief operations of the Office of the Vice President, expressed her support on Pacquiao's call on Twitter.
"Joining you in this call, Sen. Manny," Robredo replied to Pacquiao. "Our team will get in touch with yours."
“Thank you VP Leni. Let’s begin coordinating our efforts, we already prepared cargo lanes so we can mobilize and respond quickly,” Pacquiao said in response.
One person has been reported dead while two others were injured due to the onslaught of Typhoon Odette in the Visayas and Mindanao, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
In a media briefing on Friday, NDRRMC said the numbers are still up for validation.
It added that over 11,000 families or 41,434 individuals were affected by the typhoon and have been taking shelter in some evacuation centers in Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and CARAGA.
As of 8 AM, PAGASA said Odette is expected to make its ninth landfall in Palawan by Friday morning or afternoon.
In an interview with DZRH, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad said that they are monitoring the situation in Surigao City and Siargao Island, where the typhoon first made landfall on Thursday afternoon.
