For PHL, time to rebuild

December 1, 2013
Every day bodies are found among debris left by super typhoon Yolanda (International code name, Haiyan) in Leyte and Samar as relief operations and rehabilitation efforts are intensified. At press time, the death toll from the typhoon has climbed to 5,500 and the number of missing also rose to 1,757. Authorities have also placed the damage to properties, infrastructures and crops at P24.54 billion and as the official assessment is under way, the figures would surely increase.
       And while the government authorities have announced that more than one million relief packs have been distributed to the typhoon victims, hundreds of survivors, especially in the remote areas, continue to appeal for help, saying they have not received any food and water from the government. Despite the problem, the Department of Social Welfare and Development has announced that relief distribution will be up to December only, triggering complaints from hapless survivors who pointed out that donations of food, water, milk, medicines, blankets and other relief goods coming from foreign countries and the Philippine private sector continue to arrive by ship and airplanes from many parts of the world. Others complain of favoritism and politics behind the non-distribution of relief goods to some victims.
Whatever reason there is behind this DSWD decision to stop relief distribution after December will not be good enough if we think of the fact that these survivors left behind still depend on these relief goods for their daily survival. Without food, clean water and other basic necessities, these people will not make it. There ought to be a way and we’re sure there is, to continue these relief efforts beyond December and for as long as it takes to get these unfortunate victims out of their precarious conditions.
       Meanwhile, as relief distribution tapers off, the Department of Public Works and Highways and other agencies, foreign or domestic, are starting to build bunkers, tents and the like to serve as temporary shelters to the thousands who lost their homes during the disaster. For the long run, the government faces mounting clamor for houses, reconstruction of schools and other government buildings like town halls and other infrastructures. Of course, another big clamor is livelihood and employment opportunities so that the typhoon survivors can get back on their feet, support their family and provide the needs of their children.
       We are glad that reports from the government agencies showed that the long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation of the thousands of typhoon survivors are now being attended to. For one, President Aquino has set aside several billions of pesos and Congress set aside an initial P10 billion for the massive reconstruction. Also, it was announced that the billions of pesos donated in cash by foreign countries will be earmarked for the rehabilitation even as the government decided to prohibit the construction of houses several meters from the shoreline, the area prone to tsunamis, storm surges or tidal waves. It is good that while these matters are being attended to, the government also decided to be transparent in the process by posting all the monies, materials and goods donated by foreign countries on a website dedicated for that purpose.
With their resiliency and the support of their brothers and sisters in the international community, the Filipinos in the typhoon and quake-ravaged areas will be back on their feet in no time.