04 NEWS
VOLUME 31 • ISSUE 6 N O V. 2 7 , 2 0 1 7
Yolanda victims yet to fully recover after 4 years Of the 205,128 target housing to be built by the government, only 50,891 (less than a fourth) were successfully constructed and only 27% were occupied. Furthermore, of the 86 resettlement areas, only five have water. The government reported that 59 resettlement areas have power but Guzman said that only 12 of these sites actually brought power to the houses. These are some of the reasons for the low occupancy rate for the replacement houses. Majority of the complaint is that the housing is substandard – its foundations or walls are filmsy.
ARTHUR GERALD BANTILAN QUIRANTE
Student groups from UP Manila gathered at the PGH Oblation Plaza last November 8 to condemn the slow rehabilitation and disaster response of the government in relation to the wreckage left in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Photo by Ryana Ysabel Neri Kesner
Four years after the catastrophe, Yolanda ‘survivors’ still face problems left behind by the disastrous typhoon such as delayed distribution of aides, and incomplete provision of housing replacement. Last November 8, student groups and progressive organizations of the University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) held a candle-lighting ceremony and mobilization in front of UPM-Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Oblation Plaza to decry the government’s lack of response, which caused thousands of victims to remain homeless and jobless.
Overdue emergency aid Nearly two years after the onslaught of the super typhoon, a total of P18.4-B provided for emergency shelter assistance (ESA) has already been released to local governments in Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas, including municipalities affected in the MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan) region as of October 2015. According to then Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, the delay in the distribution of the
With super-typhoon Yolanda being a global news in 2013, IBON Executive Director Sonny Africa indicated this could have challenged the 'usual' government response and alleviated problems in disaster and risk management. “If there are fake news — the spread of wrong information to sway public perception – there is also fake rehabilitation”, stressed Africa.
ESA was due to the late release of funds and countervalidation of the list of beneficiaries to make sure that only those deserving would get the monetary assistance. Unfortunately, many families affected by the typhoon whose houses and livelihood were extremely affected, were classified as ‘ineligibles’ and prohibited from receiving assistance from local governments. These ‘ineligibles’ were tagged as those who have permanent income greater than P 15,000, according to the memorandum issued by Secretary Soliman in November 2014.
Housing woes for victims Based on a research published by IBON, an independent think-tank organization, the government is overachieving in the reconstruction of roads and bridges by neglecting the needs of the victims. In addition, according to head of IBON Research Department Rosario Guzman, the government’s focus has been more on rehabilitating the needs of big businesses rather than the needs of the people.
Student groups from UP Manila gathered at the PGH Oblation Plaza last November 8 to condemn the slow rehabilitation and disaster response of the government in relation to the wreckage left in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Photo by Ryana Ysabel Neri Kesner