Rehab efforts underway in typhoon-ravaged Quezon town

GEN. NAKAR, Quezon — Some 3,100 families remain homeless, electric power still has to be restored, and 3,200 pupils have yet to resume classes in this town devastated by flash floods and landslides during typhoon "Winnie" last Nov. 29. Despite this, local officials announced that rehabilitation efforts are underway.

In an interview with The STAR, Gen. Nakar Mayor Hernando Avellaneda said food donations still coming in from various sources are now being used for the "food-for-work" program which the municipal government has initiated as part of its rehabilitation efforts.

He said families now work together to clear roads and public buildings, especially schools, of debris in exchange for food.

"The quantity of food given depends on the size and needs of each family," he said.

"From clearing, we will move on to planting cash crops and fruit trees next month so we can harvest and again earn income after two to three months," he added.

Amid the rehabilitation efforts, Avellaneda lamented that owners of lands being eyed as relocation sites for families whose houses along riverbanks and at the foot of the Sierra Madre mountains were destroyed, have jacked up the value of their properties.

"We have appealed to them to either sell or donate portions of their vast properties in safe elevated areas, but they have instead jacked up the cost of their lands from the estimated zonal value of only P10 per square meter to as much as P300 to P350 per square meter," he said.

He said some of the landowners live abroad or in Metro Manila.

"We need about 1,300 hectares of land in these areas for the resettlement projects. We don’t want the families to rebuild their homes in the same dangerous areas," he said. He said expropriation proceedings "could take too long for a need that is immediate."

The municipal government has received seeds and seedlings of corn, vegetables, peanuts and fruit trees from the Department of Agriculture.

"Our lands have dried up so we can start planting this February," he said.

Avellaneda, meanwhile, said they need school supplies and materials for the resumption of classes in both elementary and high school.

"Sixteen school buildings were totally destroyed during the flash floods, but 16 others could be used. We have asked some of the evacuees to transfer to tents or move in with relatives so we can use some buildings for the classes," he said.

He said some 1,200 high school students and 2,000 elementary pupils have not gone back to their classes since the calamity struck and killed 497 local residents.

Menfolk have been processing logs and trees uprooted and washed down by rampaging floodwaters from the Sierra Madre mountains to be used in building houses for the displaced families and other structures, Avellaneda said.

"The bayanihan spirit has become very much alive here. We are helping each other build new evacuation centers so the school buildings can be used for classes," he said.

Hundreds of displaced villagers are still staying in six evacuation centers, he said.

Avellaneda met this week with officials of the Quezon Electric Cooperative 2 who told him that electricity might be restored initially in the poblacion (town proper).

However, it would take some time before electricity could be restored in all 19 barangays since many electric posts collapsed during the calamity.

"We have built a temporary one-way bridge to link our town with Infanta, but 16 other bridges that link our barangays still need to be rebuilt. They were all swept away," Avellaneda said.

Meanwhile, Avellaneda said there has been an "oversupply" of donated used clothes, stressing that what they urgently need are food donations for the food-for-work program.

He estimated that Gen. Nakar suffered some P100 million in agricultural losses and about P200 million in damage to infrastructure.

Avellaneda said they need some P300 million for the municipality to fully recover. The amount will be used for the rehabilitation of agricultural areas, damaged roads, bridges, schools and other vital public buildings, communal irrigation systems, water supply and electrical systems.

Blaming logging for the catastrophe, Avellaneda said he and other local officials are ready to impose a total logging ban in their town.

"If the national government goes for selective logging, we will implement a total logging ban in our town. We will (drive away) those whom we suspect are engaged in logging in our area," he said.