MANILA - About 80 percent of houses in 3 towns in Catanduanes, where super typhoon Rolly first made landfall, have been destroyed, Philippine Red Cross (PRC) chair Richard Gordon said Monday.

The PRC has only assessed the damage in the towns of San Andres, Bato, and Virac as other parts of the province remain inaccessible, Gordon told reporters in an online press conference.

"Kung ikokompara ito sa Yolanda, its about 70 percent damage nito sa Yolanda," he said.

(If we compare the 2 supertyphoons, Rolly's damage is about 70 percent of Yolanda's wrath.)

"'Yung mga supermarket sa Virac, totally damaged. Yung iba nawala yung roof... pati roof [ng office] namin nasira," he said.

(The supermarkets in Virac are totally damaged. Other establishments, including out office, lost their roof.)

The PRC's bloodbank in the province was also "compromised" prompting the humanitarian organization to send bags of blood to hospitals to avoid it from going to waste, Gordon said.

As of Monday morning, the PRC has recovered the remains of a 20-year-old woman, while the military found another body, the senator said. Both victims drowned, he said.

The PRC is preparing to send truckloads of water, fuel tankers, rescue trucks and generator sets to the island province where power and mobile signals remain intermittent.

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PRC's rescue efforts in typhoon-hit provinces can be bolstered should the Philippine Health Insurance Corp (PhilHealth) settle its half-billion debt this week, Gordon said.

"They should pay today. Ayokong kausapin sila, dapat nasa konsensya na nila yun," he said.

(I don't want to talk to them because that is up to their conscience.)

"In fairness, I am hopeful [that PhilHealth would pay] but it's an irritation we don't need in the middle of a crisis," he said.

PhilHealth earlier committed to shoulder the COVID-19 tests of frontliners through the PRC's swabbing program, but the state insurer has yet to settle P600-million in dues.

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