Caltex station in Tacloban Up and Running 150 Days after Supertyphoon Yolanda

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Caltex station in Tacloban Up and Running 150 Days after Supertyphoon Yolanda

April 29, 2014

After donating a total of P69.5 million to victims of supertyphoon Yolanda (international codename: Haiyan), Chevron continues to help the battered city of Tacloban get back on its feet.  A newly rebuilt Caltex service station, located along Diversion Road in Brgy. 77 Fatima Village, is now supplying fuel to Tacloban through the hard work and perseverance of branded marketer (BM) First Pacific Nova Distributors Corporation (FPNDC). 

All five Caltex stations that dotted Leyte and Samar sustained heavy damage and had to close down due to the disaster. One of the most affected was the Caltex station in Tacloban. “The town was in complete chaos. Communication lines were cut and we had limited road access to help us transport construction materials,” said Edmund Uy of FPNDC as he recounted some of the obstacles that the station faced during its reconstruction. 

FPNDC employees, whose jobs were affected by the typhoon, can support their families again while the community now has access to Caltex fuel. Massive storm surges and strong winds caused extensive damage to the station that it had to be rebuilt from the ground up.  “We had to endure a lot of hardships,  but in the end we were still able to put the station back to its normal operations in about four months, or just after 150 days. My employees are thankful that they got their jobs back and that we can continue serving customers,” Uy added. 

This Caltex station will also supply fuel for the ongoing relief and rebuilding operations in the city. It will be supporting gov’t and relief organizations in meeting logistical challenges. The site will ease the huge demand for kerosene for cooking and for lighting. Relief groups need fuel to expedite the transfer of goods,  medical supplies and building materials to far-flung places such as Palo, Tanauan, and Tolosa where roads are still barely passable and travel by sea is often more practical. 

Tacloban is the largest city in Eastern Visayas peninsula, bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the east and the Visayas Sea on the west.  Yolanda made landfall in Tacloban on Nov. 8, 2013 bringing record winds and storm surges of up to 7 meters tall. 

CPI, along with US and other local Chevron companies, contributed $1.6 million to relief efforts in Tacloban and other typhoon-ravaged provinces. “Chevron’s commitment to aid in the recovery of typhoon survivors and in helping rebuild Tacloban will continue as we gradually put all our fuel network back together. All affected FPNDC employees who temporarily were jobless and suffered personal losses deserve to be commended for getting this Caltex station back on its feet again,” said Peter Morris, General Manager, Philippines Products.