A remote Filipino school in Bicol province assisted by a small New Zealand voluntary NGO has been seriously damaged by floodwaters in the wake of Typhoon Kristine (Trami) that left at least 82 people dead across the Philippines last week.

Mangcayo Elementary School, which was submerged by Typhoon Usman fringe storms six years ago, is the impacted school. It was a school that had been assisted by the Lingap Kapwa (“Caring for People”) project.

Now the school has been flooded again in the latest disaster. The school, near Vinzons in Bicol province, is reached by a narrow causeway that is prone to flooding by the Mangcayo Creek.

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ABS-CBN News reports that foreign governments and humanitarian organisations have been scaling up assistance in the Philippines to aid hundreds of thousands affected by the typhoon, which struck several regions over the past week.

On Saturday, a C-130 cargo aircraft from the Singapore Air Force and a Eurocopter EC725 transport helicopter from the Royal Malaysian Air Force arrived at Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

The aircraft will provide airlift support to help bolster the Philippine Air Force’s operations in delivering humanitarian aid supplies to typhoon-hit communities.

“During this challenging time, Singapore stands with our friends in the Philippines. This response underscores our warm defence ties and close Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) cooperation, as well as the enduring friendship between Singapore and the Philippines,” the Singapore Embassy in Manila said in a statement.

Chest-deep floodwaters
Philippine rescuers waded through chest-deep floodwaters to reach residents trapped by the typhoon, reports Al Jazeera.

Torrential rain had turned streets into rivers, submerged entire villages and buried some vehicles in volcanic sediment set loose by the tropical storm.

At least 32,000 people had fled their homes in the northern Philippines, police said.

In the Bicol region, about 400km southeast of the capital Manila, “unexpectedly high” flooding was complicating rescue efforts.

“We sent police rescue teams, but they struggled to enter some areas because the flooding was high and the current was so strong,” regional police spokesperson Luisa Calubaquib said.

At an emergency meeting of government agencies last Wednesday, President Ferdinand Marcos said that “the worst is yet to come”.

French Polynesia’s newly-elected President Moetai Brotherson has presented a 10-member government, which includes four women.

Brotherson has confirmed his pre-election choice of Eliane Tevahitua as Vice-President as well as Culture, Lands and Environment Minister.

Several of the ministers are new to politics, with 29-year-old Jordy Chan as Infrastructure and Transport Minister being the youngest.

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Vannina Crolas, who was an official in the now ruling Tavini Huira’atira party, is the new Public Sector and Employment Minister.

Minarii Galenon, who has been the president of the Women’s Council, is the new Housing Minister.

Nahema Temarii has been made Sports Minister.

Brotherson said weeks ago he had more women than men aspiring to be ministers but as some women withdrew, he has not been able to form a government with gender parityas he had expected.

Gender parity the aim
Before the election, Brotherson said he planned to have a government made up by at least half with women.

Ronny Teriipaia has been made Education Minister, and Tevaiti Pomare has become Finance Minister.

Cedric Marcadal has been made Health Minister, and Teivani Teai is the Primary Industry Minister.

He added an additional position to his line-up by making Nathalie Salmon-Hudry an interministerial delegate responsible for People with Disabilities.

Wanting a broad government, Brotherson offered one ministerial position to the pro-autonomy opposition A here Ia Porinetai party, but it declined.

The term of government is five years.

Meanwhile, Brotherson has reaffirmed that the main priority for his government is not independence from France but continued assistance to the victims of the flooding two weeks ago.

The pursuit of independence, which is the central tenet of their Tavini Huira’atira, has been Brotherson’s repeatedly stated endeavour and a long-term goal but, like his predecessors, he has shown no hurry to call a referendum.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.