Yolanda rehab ‘halfway’

CEBU, Philippines- Almost two years since super typhoon Yolanda destroyed parts of northern Cebu the rehabilitation is still halfway, said Provincial Risk Reduction and Disaster Management Officer Baltazar Tribunalo.

“Based sa figures sa NEDA (National Economic Development Authority), 50 to 60 percent na. At least nabalik na sa normal, but it’s not enough,” said Tribunalo.

NEDA has since taken over the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery when its chief, Panfilo Lacson, resigned early this year citing frustration over the boundaries of his office.

“Di ko kaingon nga totally frustrated. In fairness to the national government, so far, okay ra man ang dagan. In terms of emergency assistance, na-address na. Karon naa sa rehab, challenging but not frustrated,” Tribunalo said.

Tribunalo said “billions” were already released by the national government from its promised P12.2 billion rehabilitation fund for Cebu alone.

From this amount, the national government had already released the Emergency Shelter Assistance to various local government units in the north.

However, Tribunalo said problems developed when the national government slashed the number of recipients the local government units had earlier identified and validated, which resulted to voluminous complaints from families who were also supposedly recipients of the financial assistance.

“Gi-validate sa national, usahay sayop, naay mga sipyat. Maayo klarohon ang policy. Nausab man ang guidelines. Unya kami mabuthan, labi na ang mga LGU,” said Tribunalo.

He also said the Department of Social Welfare and Development is resolving this problem.

Tribunalo said the province was also able to release 94 to 96 percent of the P280 million it promised to the 15 affected LGUs in the north.

And while there are several families now living in safe zones, he said there are still those who chose to go back to the supposed no-build zones, or near the shoreline and areas which can be directly hit by storm surges.

He said it is like a “pendulum” where the problem is supposed to be nearing resolution yet becomes a problem again.

Tribunalo, however, said the public has learned from Yolanda because for the typhoons since, except for Ruby, Cebu has managed a zero casualty count.

“Maigo gyud ta’g bagyo, but it’s a matter of how manage a zero casualty. Karon, taas-taas na ang level sa mga tawo sa consciousness labi na sa early warning system. We learned it from Yolanda,” he said.  (FREEMAN)