Gov’t working on long-term rehab for ‘Pablo’ victims

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – President Aquino said yesterday the government is working on a long-term rehabilitation for the close to 170,000 families affected by super typhoon “Pablo” that struck Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley and Davao del Norte last Dec. 4, killing over 1,000 people and leaving at least 500 others missing.

“The question here is where do we put them after their places have been hit by the storm,” the President said in a press briefing after addressing the participants to the 2013 Philippine Development Forum at the Marco Polo Hotel here yesterday.

The President said long-term rehabilitation would mean determining the geo-hazardous areas where residents can be advised not to build their homes anymore.

“What we will determine here are the build or no-build zones wherein the places where it would be safe or no longer safe for these people to live in,” he said.

The President also emphasized that the government is still extending continuing relief assistance to 140,000 families or 75 percent of the total number of families affected by Pablo.

The President said at least 139,798 families have availed themselves of cash-for-work projects while 62,638 others got emergency shelter assistance of P10,000 each.

He said another 39,762 families also benefited from the government’s core shelter assistance and 139,798 others were also given livelihood assistance.

On the restoration of power in the affected areas, the President said the build and no-build zones have to be determined first.

“I’m made to understand that power in the poblacion has been restored and the far-flung barangays have no power yet. But the power restoration would coincide with the identification of the risky areas so that power can be concentrated in areas considered to be build zones,” he said.

The President said he expects the list of the build and no-build zones to be submitted to him this week.