Lacson: Post-Yolanda rehab going very well

MANILA, Philippines - Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery Sec. Panfilo Lacson on Thursday said rehabilitation and recovery work in the areas devastated by supertyphoon Yolanda is progressing well as he vowed to go after those who hinder the recovery effort, particularly those involved in the construction of substandard bunkhouses.

"I think we are progressing very well. Just because we a quiet, hindi ibig sabihin na wala kaming ginagawa. Kaya nga spelled out yung activities. I think we have accomplished so much in the period of six weeks. that is the time i have spent so far being the presidential assistant for rehabilitation," he said.

Lacson, who spoke before a gathering of recovery and rehabilitation experts at the Asian Institute of Management, said he is coordinating with the various stakeholders in the rehabilitation work, to include concerned government agencies, local government units and local government units.

"Lahat dapat i-coordinate. Di naman pwedeng bara bara ang gagawin nating reconstruction," he said.

At the moment, Lacson said his office is still waiting for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to submit their respective designs for disaster-resilient housing and classroom units.

"We are still waiting the designs coming from the DPWH and DepEd para sa mga housing units and classrooms. Hindi actually mabagal. If we look at the Indonesian experience. It took them six months before they actually started implementing the reconstruction and rehabilitation," he said.

"We are now in our third month and in a few weeks, the actual reconstruction will start. We are relying more on the private sector. Napakarami nilang nagpledge at nag commit. They will be shepherding the efforts in their chosen areas. We will fill in the gaps and prevent overlaps again by coordinating with the sector sponsors," he added.

Lacson said he expects schoolbuildings and hospitals to be built within the year. 

Lacson also announced the opening of Banco de Oro savings accounts where donors could deposit cash donations for the Yolanda rehabilitation work.

"We put up a Yolanda multi-donor fund were all monetary donations for Yolanda related projects will be managed by very credible and reputable top executives from big business groups," said Lacson.

Lacson said interested donors could deposit their US dollar donations at the Banco de Oro savings account 105-310-463-926.

Peso donations meanwhile could be desposited at the Banco de Oro account 005-310-633-988.

Lacson said both accounts were newly-opened at the Banco de Oro Ayala branch. He added that other savings accounts for the Yolanda Multi-Donor Fund will soon be opened at the Metrobank, RCBC and Bank of the Philippine Islands.

To ensure the transparency of the fund, Lacson said they have designed a map-based website which donors could use to track down how their donations were used.

"We are also going to set-up a map-based website that will make sure that all donations can be tracked every step of the way. Kung sa housing ba ito, ano ang itsura nung bahay. Ituturo sila sa exact location nung binigyan nila ng donation. To make it very very transparent. That is why we chose some very reputable personslities to compose the board of trustees," he said.

Meanwhile, Lacson made clear that while he is focused on rehabilation work, he will still go after those blocking the rehabilitation work and those who have taken advantage of the rehabilitation work by engaging in corruption.

Lacson in particular made mention of the substandard bunkhouses made for Yolanda survivors.

He said the case is now being handled by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the national police and by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). He said charges will be filed those involved as soon as all the evidence is gathered.

"I have a list. I will deal with them sooner or later. the list is just a short list compred to those who are in (involved in the rehabilitation work) 'yung mga gustong tumulong and it keeps on going. It is now undergoing investigation by the CIDG and ISAFP because it entails some intelligence work. Once they complete their investigation and I am provided with a copy, I will let you know. But we will make sure that once the evidence gathered will warrant the filing of criminal charges against those reponsible, we will not hesitate, no matter how close they are to the administration or no matter what affiliations they have, political or otherwise," he said.

"I'm in constant touch with the CIDG. they have enough information but how to transform these information into solid evidence is another matter. Ito ang pinagkakaabalahan nila ngayon," he added.

Lacson hinted that at least 10 politicians both administration allies and those in the opposition are involved in the bunkhouses scam 

"It is a short list and i hope it does not grow longer. Less than 10, mostly politicians. What else is new? I will not qualify but possibly, adminsitration allies, yung iba naman nasa opposition," he said.

"Alam naman nila kung sino sila. May mga problema talaga yung bunkhouses. May mga substandard materials. May mga parang pinalitan yung materials na required ng DPWH. I just hope that this has set the tone for this rehabilitation effort na hi di pwepwede yung kalokohan. Nag prepresent sa atin yung opportunity from a tragedy, tapos sasamantalahin mo naman to satisfybyour greed. Kung gusto nilan magnakaw, sa ibang panahon na lang at sa ibang lugar. Wag na nilang pakialaman 'tong sa trahedya ng mga kababayan natin," Lacson said.