EDITORIAL - Permanent evacuees

One of the two winners of the latest P30-million lotto jackpot is reportedly a typhoon victim who lives in an evacuation center in Pampanga. That’s not typhoon “Pablo” or the latest, “Quinta,” but “Ondoy,” which spawned cataclysmic flooding way back in 2009.

Elsewhere in Luzon, families housed in evacuation centers in Laguna also gathered for their Christmas Eve meal the other night. The evacuees are victims of the massive flooding from typhoon “Sendong” a year ago, which killed over a thousand people mostly in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Several typhoon victims in those two cities have also not fully recovered from the devastation.

The latest typhoon refugees – victims of Pablo – are scattered in evacuation centers in Mindanao. Evacuees from New Bataan, one of the hardest-hit towns in Compostela Valley, recounted their humble dinner fare for Christmas Eve even as they gave thanks for their survival. After an initial outpouring of assistance, it is easy for these people to be forgotten, especially if another major catastrophe strikes.

Like many evacuees from previous natural disasters, the plight of Pablo’s victims in Compostela, the Davao provinces and other typhoon-hit areas of Mindanao won’t improve soon. Agriculture authorities have said it will take about a year for the ruined banana plantations on which many depended for their livelihood to be rehabilitated and become productive again. 

Evacuation centers are not designed for permanent settlement. The plight of evacuees from several typhoons in the past years should remind disaster mitigation authorities that assisting victims of natural calamities is a comprehensive, long-term effort that should be incorporated into anti-poverty programs. Disasters worsen impoverishment and victims in depressed communities need even more assistance. When aid from foreign governments, civic groups and the private sector dries up, the government must be prepared to take up the slack and help the victims regain self-sufficiency as soon as possible.