Life still difficult to come by four years after ‘Yolanda’
As the country commemorates the fourth anniversary of typhoon “Yolanda” today, many teachers
in affected areas are still waiting for the emergency shelter assistance promised by the government.
Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), a 30,000-strong group of teachers said “four years after the devastating typhoon hit Visayas provinces, teachers have yet to receive the promised emergency shelter assistance (ESA).”
“We received reports that the full amount for emergency shelter assistance for most of the teachers especially in Tacloban City and Leyte has not been released as of the moment,” said TDC Chairperson Benjo Basas in a forum in Quezon City.
“The amount covers the government employees whose houses have been declared either fully or partially damaged,” Basas said. “Most of the teachers who received the partial amount were asked to liquidate as a pre-requisite for full release,” he noted.
In the Eastern Visayas State University, for instance – Basas said the “administration initiated the provision of financial assistance to its employees but later on, the COA [Commission on Audit] ordered them to return the funds.”
“Most of the teachers who are beneficiaries of housing projects have not been moved to their respective units,” Basas added and DepEd has yet to issue a statement on the matter.
From 11,000 to 1300 The storm did not only alter the terrain of areas in its path. It also took the livelihood of some displaced residents.
Rex Gabrinao, 38 used to earn up to P1,000 daily from fishing before the killer typhoon struck. Today he drives a tricycle in the northern part of Tacloban city for two years now earning from P200 to P300 a day.
“Although my wife and I don’t have children, we have to survive our handto-mouth existence every day,” said Gabrinao, one of the recipients of the 33-sq. meter concrete house built by the National Housing Authority (NHA) in San Roque village.
Another housing recipient, Maria Cristina Emnas, 22, said her husband’s earning from fishing drastically dropped due to high transportation costs.
“He has to spend 160 to P70 for fare daily to fish in San Jose from our new house. Before Yolanda struck, he just walked a few steps from our house to the shoreline,” Emnas shared.
Tacloban City Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez said the local government has been conducting livelihood training courses in partnership with national government agencies to help jobless and low-income families.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) confirmed on Monday that as of the first half of 2017, several projects under the livelihood cluster has yet to begin in Eastern Visayas.
Free ride, water supply The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas has provided six buses for the use of relocated families. The free ride for workers and students has been around for more than a year, but thousands have to take public transportation due to limited bus seats.
Evangeline Sanchez’ other main concern is water supply.
Their family of six, she said, only gets an allocation of five jugs or about 10 liters daily for shower, toilet, laundry, and cooking. Their family buys drinking water at 130 per jug.
The family gets water from delivery trucks of the Department of Public Works and Highways, the city government, the Leyte Metropolitan Water District, and some private contractors.
“Five jugs daily are not enough for all of us. In days without water rations, we are forced to buy water from private water delivery services,” the 40-year-old Sanchez added.
NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio Uy said that under the medium-term water supply project for Tacloban’s northern resettlement areas, water trucks would be awarded to Tacloban before the year ends. Plans and approved budget contract for the long-term water supply project is still being finalized for presentation in the procurement conference.
“The schedule of the conference is still subject to the completion of all necessary documents,” Uy added.
Both projects are being implemented by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), a state-run corporation based in Quezon City. LWUA has no office in the provinces.
The government targets to move 14,000 families to the resettlement sites by next year, according to Romualdez.
As of end October, more than 9,000 families have already been transferred from danger zones to their new homes.
‘Yolanda’ Marker
Bayan Muna-partylist Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate is proposing via House Bill 6564 the construction of a memorial for the victims of supertyphoon Yolanda in Tacloban City.
“The poor preparedness, the lacking response and relief, and the abysmal reconstruction efforts by the government has resulted to the massive death toll and continuing injustice for the survivors,” Zarate laments.
“The Memorial in Tacloban City will serve as a marker in memory of the victims, for the many unidentified dead buried in mass graves, and as a reminder to our leaders and the people to work towards a disaster-resilient nation, “he said.
In the Senate, Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara filed Senate Bill No. 1596 seeking to declare November 8 as “Yolanda Commemoration Day” in remembrance of the devastation that struck the Eastern Visayas Region in 2013.
“It is very important that we, as a country, honor the memory of the dead and as well as the selflessness of those who worked tirelessly and contributed resources to help Eastern Visayas,” said Angara, who chairs the Senate committee on local government.
“Those who perished are not statistics and those who worked in the recovery and rehabilitation efforts are true heroes who should never be forgotten,” he added. (With reports from Hannah L. Torregoza, Charissa L. Atienza, and PNA)