House to probe slow Yolanda rehab

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives will look into the slow pace of rehabilitation in areas that Super Typhoon Yolanda had devastated.

Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani said the inquiry will cover the disbursement of donations and supplemental funds allocated by Congress, and the actual death toll of the world’s strongest typhoon in 2013.

“It is important that Congress investigate the actual number of deaths, the report on ‘slow’ recovery efforts, and the questions on disbursement of the cash donations and supplemental budget to provide relevant measures that would ensure adequate services and judicious use of funds for the survivors,” they said.

In seeking the inquiry, Colmenares and Isagani said they want to make sure that the P167.9-billion Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (CRRP) that President Aquino signed on Oct. 29, 2014 will translate to concrete benefits and truly aid in the recovery of Yolanda survivors.

“Tens of thousands of survivors are still living in tents and bunkhouses, have no substantial economic activities and sustainable jobs and feel neglected,” they said.

Colmenares and Isagani said the death toll remains unclear a year after Yolanda struck.

“While Aquino fired a police officer for predicting substantially more casualties than his estimate of approximately 3,000 deaths, many believe that the police officer’s estimate is closer to the truth,” they said.

Colmenares said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) confirmed 6,300 deaths as of April 17, 2014.

However, claims were made that the fatalities could reach 18,000, he added.

He had received reports that the bodies of some victims are still being recovered as of Nov. 2, he said.

National Housing Authority assistant general manager Froilan Kampitan had admitted that only 142 families have so far been given permanent houses, out of some 250,000 families in the six Yolanda-struck regions, Colmenares said.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone asked concerned agencies to speed up the delivery of livelihood assistance to his constituents.

His province was one of the hardest hit Yolanda-devastated areas.

Up to now, no coordinated and comprehensive program has been undertaken to implement livelihood projects for Yolanda victims, particularly in agriculture and fishing, he added.

Evardone said the government had sent thousands of coconut seedlings to his province, but that most of them were of poor quality or did not mature at all.

Presidential adviser on food security Francis Pangilinan assured him that the  seedlings would be replaced, he added.