Aquino okays master plan for Yolanda rehabilitation

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - President Benigno Aquino III has given his go-ahead signal to a master plan that outlines the rehabilitation of areas ravaged by typhoon Haiyan, known as Yolanda locally, a senior government official said today.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said  Yolanda Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (CRRP) requires a funding of P167.9 billion ($3.75 billion). The fund will be used to implement 25, 000 specific programs and activities under the CRRP.

Coloma said the Philippine government will restore infrastructure damaged by the typhoon and construct resilient houses based on the "build-back-better" principle and to provide livelihood to affected residents.

Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (PARR) Panfilo Lacson said these activities are aimed at speeding up the recovery of 171 affected cities and municipalities in 14 provinces and six regions collectively known as the "Yolanda corridor."

The CRRP was approved nearly a year after Haiyan devastated central Philippines. The strongest typhoon to make landfall in 2013 left 6,200 people dead, 1,700 others missing, and rendered millions of families homeless.