Norway to provide additional $8-M typhoon aid

MANILA, Philippines - Norway will add $8 million to its $35-million commitment to the typhoon recovery plan of the Philippines.

Visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende said yesterday the additional assistance is in response to the appeal of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the international community for more support for the typhoon recovery plan.

“And I’m appealing also to my colleagues in Europe and their colleagues that they’ll follow on this additional pledge so we can reach a much higher number than 40 percent,” he said.

Norway is also considering further helping fishermen and farmers in  Yolanda-affected provinces, Brende said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario thanked Brende for Norway’s substantial support of $41.3 million to typhoon-related relief efforts in the Visayas and for Norway’s keen interest in the Philippine recovery and reconstruction efforts.

“We are deeply moved by the Norwegian government’s immediate response, which ranged from financial assistance and relief goods, to the deployment of volunteers and an ‘experts on mission’,” he said.

He welcomed Brende in his first visit to the Philippines.

Brende made the three-day visit, from Jan. 7 to 9, nine weeks after assuming office as Norway’s foreign minister.

Brende visited some Yolanda-affected areas on Jan. 8 to gain insights on how Norwegian assistance has been used and to see how Norway could further contribute to the Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) program.

During a visit to the Philippines last month, Ban said the Philippines needs help from the international community.

“We must not allow this to be another forgotten crisis,” he said, referring to Typhoon Yolanda.

General topics covered during Brende’s courtesy call on Del Rosario were Norwegian assistance for Yolanda victims and the status of rehabilitation efforts, Norway’s support to the Philippine maritime sector and participation in peace processes with rebels.

Brende reiterated Norway’s commitment to continue to assist in government peace efforts, particularly as the third party facilitator in negotiations with the National Democratic Front (NDF). 

The government will continue to consult with Norway as to how the process may move forward in light of current difficulties.

Brende commended the government for the progress made on the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Norway, a member of the international monitoring team (IMT), expressed hope that the comprehensive agreement on the Bangsamoro may be completed soon.

EU-rebuilt houses completed

The 4,000 houses of Typhoon Pablo victims in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental rebuilt and repaired through assistance from the European Union have been completed.

EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux led yesterday the ceremonial turnover of the certificates of ownership of homes made from traditional materials to 200 families from Barangays Mamunga, Macopa, Naboc and San Isidro in Compostela Valley.

“The road to recovery and reconstruction is easier when all the stakeholders actively participate – the affected families, local government units, international organizations and non-government organizations,” Ledoux said.

They are part of a larger group of 4,000 families that have had their homes repaired or rebuilt with EU initiative in collaboration with the Red Cross.

Joining Ledoux at the ceremony yesterday in Barangay Macopa Gymnasium in  Monkayo, Compostela Valley were former senator Richard Gordon, Philippine Red Cross CEO and chairman; Roger Morgui, Spanish Red Cross head of delegation, as well as other local government officials involved in the project.

The EU has provided 2.55 million euros or roughly P150 million in grants to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as well as the Spanish and the German Red Cross societies in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross to help provide shelters to families Typhoon Pablo had affected.

Another 7.45 million euros or P440 million was given to other organizations to provide for immediate needs of Pablo-affected   families, including food, water and sanitation, shelter, livelihood and medical care.

Ledoux said families with damaged houses were given cash vouchers worth P10,000 with additional transport allowance to repair their homes, while those with totally damaged houses were provided shelters costing between P30,000 and P75,000 and measuring at least 20 square meters for a family of six.

“The bulk purchase of the materials and the involvement of the community in the construction of the homes ensured efficient and cost-effective results,” he said.

The shelters are constructed in lots either belonging to the families themselves or in public lots assigned by the local government.

Lots are carefully selected to ensure that the shelters are built in hazard-free locations.

French to build houses

The French business community in the Philippines yesterday launched a project to build 100 super typhoon-resistant houses in the coastal town of Daanbantayan in Northern Cebu that Yolanda had devastated.

Coordinating construction of the French Village is the France-Philippines United Action (FPUA), a private sector task force.

Speaking to reporters, Don Lee, FPUA head, said the project will be done in cooperation with Habitat For Humanity.

“As we see the outpouring of continuous relief support given to those affected, we would like to supplement these inspirational efforts by launching the rebuilding of permanent homes in these surrounding communities,“ he said.

“We are privileged to be working with the architects from Habitat for Humanity, who have redesigned disaster resilient houses that will withstand the deteriorating climate situations in the Philippines.”

Lee is president of Lafarge Holdings Cement Services Philippines, a French industrial company specializing in four major products: cement, construction aggregates, concrete and gypsum wallboard. It is the world’s largest cement manufacturer.

Construction of the houses in Barangay Agujo will start later this month and will take six months to complete.

The 5,400-square meter land where the houses will be built was donated by the Cebu provincial government.

Lee said 20 French companies doing business in the Philippines have so far pledged their support for the project.

He will help coordinate funding for the construction of the houses, as well as provide the construction materials needed such as cement and aggregates.

Lafarge’s partners and suppliers will provide free building materials for the structural requirements of the houses. Lafarge’s grinding plant in Danao, Cebu, will be used as the staging area for construction materials and volunteers.

Charlie Ayco, Habitat for Humanity chief executive officer, said the houses will be constructed using a hyperbolic parabola design for the roof to be made of a thin concrete shell.

“We could have opted to build cheaper houses but we are looking at it on a long-term basis,” Ayco said. “Instead of building cheaper ones using GI sheets for roofs, we will build houses that could withstand strong typhoons.”

Ayco said each core house will cost P200,000 to build.

The 20-square meter house could shelter a family of five and is designed to withstand 275 kilometer per hour winds and intensity 8 tremors, Ayco said.

Daanbantayan Mayor Augusto Corro said his town of 15 barangays needs 4,000 new houses and about 18,000 houses to be repaired.

“It has already been two months since the typhoon,” he said. – With Jose Rodel Clapano, Mike Frialde, Helen Flores