By Raheema Velasco

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos said on Tuesday that he already instructed Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Erwin Tulfo to distribute P5,000 to P10,000 cash aid to Paeng victims in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“Kapag sira talaga ang lugar,  nagbibigay kami ng building materials mismo. Pero hindi naman ganoon ang nangyari rito…kaya bibigyan na lang namin kayo ng five to ten thousand bawat isa para makapag bili ng construction materials at para makapili kayo papano ang gusto niyong gawin,” Marcos said.

(When the place is really damaged, we provide building materials ourselves. But that's not what happened here...so we'll just give you five to ten thousand each to buy construction materials and so you can choose how you want to do it.)

But according to CM Builders Inc., a group consists of engineers, architects, and interior designers, the cost of constructing a house in the Philippines currently ranges from P15,000 to P20,000 per square meter of the total floor area of the house.

Marcos’ response was after Datu Odin Sinsuat Mayor Lester Sinsuat emphasized that the recent typhoon victims have lost their homes, and evacuees are starting to ask him where they should go after the storm subsides.

As of October 31, BARMM recorded 52 deaths, 13 missing, and 31 injured caused by the recent tropical storm Paeng.

Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government Atty Naguib Sinarimbo reported a partial assessment of partially damaged and total houses at 375 and 339, respectively.

Meanwhile, Marcos said that the government is closely monitoring the situation in Maguindanao and that he knows the needs of the people.

On the same day, Marcos had a situation briefing in Maguindanao with BARMM ministers, local government units of Maguindanao, and some of his cabinet secretaries.

Maguindanao del Norte is one of the hardest hit by severe tropical storm Paeng last weekend.