Masbate city: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday sought immediate action to address the ongoing cash problems affecting residents in Masbate City.

According to Philippines News Agency, in a media interview in Masbate City, Marcos cited the need to bring additional cash to the calamity-stricken area to assist residents grappling with financial challenges and help them meet their immediate needs. This urgency arises as Marcos acknowledged ongoing difficulties faced by locals due to limited access to cash withdrawal, following the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Opong (international name Bualoi).

Marcos attributed the cash withdrawal issues to limited internet connectivity and unstable power supply in Masbate City. He emphasized the challenge of enabling residents to access their funds, noting, “That’s the problem we have to solve now – paano makapag-provide ng [pera] para makapag-withdraw. Hindi naman ito cash assistance eh. Para makapag-withdraw yung tao ng sarili nilang pera sa bangko (how to provide cash so that people can make withdrawals. This is not cash assistance. It is meant to help them withdraw their own money from the bank). And that’s what we have to do.”

He further mentioned, “Mukhang ang solusyon ay magdadala tayo rito ng napakaraming cash. So yan ang isusunod namin. ‘Yun ang pinakakulang na hindi pa namin nagagawa (It looks like the solution is to bring a large amount of cash here. So, that’s what we’ll do next. That’s the main thing we haven’t done yet) at all.”

Citing a report from Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, Marcos highlighted that two branches of the Land Bank of the Philippines remain operational but are ‘far’ from Masbate City, making it difficult for residents to access banking services. “So, it’s a problem that we’re going to have to solve very, very quickly,” Marcos said. “We have to do a lot of work para maka-recover lahat (to ensure the recovery of all).”