Memorial for Yolanda victims pushed

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers sought yesterday the construction in Tacloban City of a memorial for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda, a reminder to the country’s leaders and people to work towards a disaster-resilient nation.

Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna party-list filed House Bill 4100, which shall be known as the “Yolanda Memorial Act of 2014” and provides that the marker shall be constructed in Tacloban City under the supervision of the Department of Public Works and Highways in coordination with local government units (LGUs).

The bill also provides that a message shall be inscribed onto the base of the memorial and shall read:

“In memory of the thousands of victims of Yolanda. That calamities have been transformed into a monstrosity due to climate change. That the leaders of this country must employ its utmost knowledge and care for the people. To work for a disaster-resilient nation. That appropriate, decisive and climate-adaptive policies must be enforced. To help protect the lives and livelihood of the people and mitigate the effects of disasters. To prevent such loss when another calamity as Yolanda should ever come our way again. May this never happen again.”

The bill, now pending at the House committee on public works and highways chaired by Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan, further provides that the inscription may be translated into Filipino or Waray, or both, according to the discretion of the LGUs.

As of February, the total death toll for all Yolanda-ravaged regions has reached 6,201, with 28,626 people injured and 1,785 still missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC).