DPWH to build stronger school buildings in Yolanda-hit areas

MANILA, Philippines - The school buildings that would be constructed in areas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda last November would be stronger and able to withstand wind velocity of 250 kilometers per hour, an official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said yesterday.

DPWH-Bureau of Design (BOD) chief Gilberto Reyes said they hope to submit the final design of the school buildings within the week and get the approval of Secretary Rogelio Singson.

He said they coordinated their plan with the Department of Education (DepEd).

“The designs of the school buildings are the same as before. The only difference is that it would be stronger,” Reyes said.

He said there is a slim chance that the storm winds that would hit the Eastern Visayas region would pack speeds of 250 kph, since the usual rate in the area only reaches up to 200 kph.

Reyes said that for the roof, there would be a slight change on the system of connecting the GI (galvanized iron) sheet to the trestle.

Reyes said they would also make sure that the materials that would be used for the walls would comply with standards that they have set.

Livelihood assistance

Meanwhile, more Yolanda victims can now put up their own businesses after receiving over P3 million in livelihood grants from the government.

“Regional Office No. 7 of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has informed me that it has released P3.704 million in livelihood grants to 17 accredited co-partners, benefiting 2,386 victims, 1,534 of whom are female,” Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

She said DOLE-Central Visayas was the first to grant livelihood assistance, setting an example for other regional offices to make good their commitments and start rolling out the 2014 DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP).

The labor chief ordered all DOLE regional directors and program managers to fast-track the release of the DILP funds, particularly to survivors of natural calamities, and help them earn decent incomes to be able to recover from the tragedies.

In a related development, the DOLE also approved the release of P5.6 million to the Sugar Industry Foundation, Inc. (SIFI), to fund various socio-economic projects for sugar workers and their dependents this year.

Clear casualty figures

The independent bloc in the House of Representatives called on Malacañang yesterday to come clean on the casualty figures of Yolanda.

Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, leader of the bloc, said up to now bodies are still being recovered in Yolanda-hit areas, particularly in Tacloban City. This did not escape notice of United Nations Undersecretary General Valerie Amos, who visited the city last week.

“We all know that there was an attempt by Malacañang to try to downplay the number of casualties by trying to pin the number from 2,000 to 2,500. We all know that that has soared way behind that figure although the last official count was over 6,100,” Romualdez said.

“There are around 2,000 missing and if you’ve been lost for the past four months, more often than not, one imagines that you might have been one of the casualties. So definitely, the figures have risen and it’s just not the priority of the government to come out with the exact figures any longer,” he said.

He said he understands many in government would want to get over the tragedy, “but the very least that we can do to those victims is to give them the dignity of acknowledging their passing and if possible, to give them a proper burial.”

He and other members of the bloc renewed their call for the administration to give the local officials in disaster-hit areas a free hand in handling rehabilitation efforts.

He added that even President Aquino has realized that the rehabilitation work was too slow. –  With Mayen Jaymalin, Paolo Romero