Slow rehab

Vice President Jejomar Binay, former rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson; Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Ralph Recto, and Francis Escudero; Reps. Terry Ridon, Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate Jr. joined in a chorus of critics of the ‘management disaster’ of the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program.

Binay pointed out that only 51 percent of rehabilitation efforts were completed. “This is a disaster in terms of management,” Binay said.

On the second anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda, former Senator Ping Lacson, former head of the government’s relief and rehabilitation program, lamented there’s a lack of focus. “Some government officials are not doing their jobs and many government programs were not being implemented,” he said.

“The Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (CRRP), with an approved budget of P167.8 billion by President Benigno Aquino III, is not being followed by implementing agencies. The nightmare of Nov. 8, 2013 still continues to haunt us,” Lacson declared.

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez said only 500 were completed, out of 12,000 permanent houses the government promised to build.

Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the resettlement efforts in Guiuan, Eastern Samar and Palo Leyte are doing well.

Senators Marcos, Recto and Escudero demanded a full accounting and disclosure of the status of the government’s relief and rehabilitation programs for Yolanda area.

Amid reports of millions of pesos in unused disaster funds, the government only managed to complete around 10 percent of its promised permanent housing units for Yolanda survivors two years since Typhoon Yolanda struck the Visayas, Marcos noted.

As for Recto, he noted that most government reports on Yolanda reconstruction are couched in numbers, in accounting ledgers, that a layman would find hard to comprehend. He even suggested to open a Yolanda Facebook page where it can upload “photographic proof” of the P93 billion worth of projects and programs it claims to have implemented to date to repair the damage wrought by Yolanda.

Last year, it was noted that the government’s Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (FAiTH) – a government created portal meant to track donations and provide transparency – does not contain accurate details on the exact pledges and aid that has been received.

According to Escudero, “it captures only the foreign aid pledged and received by the country for the victims of ‘Yolanda.’ It does not include the foreign or local donations that were deposited directly to the accounts of various departments or agencies, or the foreign or local donations received directly by the affected local government units.”

Foreign donors, Germany and United States, clarified that the millions of dollars worth of foreign donations, which are being questioned, did not pass through the national government. They have coursed their donations through major agencies who have close coordination with respective counterparts in the Philippines, such as the Philippine Red Cross, who helps foreign donors in reaching their target.

Germany donated P8.8 billion in cash and in kind while US gave US$43 million.

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez appealed to the national government to fast-track the approval of the blueprint of the rehabilitation project needed by countries who made their pledges, in order to release foreign donations.

As manifested by the protracted rehabilitation efforts in Yolanda-hit provinces, Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon also slammed the Aquino administration for seemingly aiming to leave “legacy of neglect,” noting our affected countrymen remain largely in destitution despite the release of billions in public funds and the outpour of international support.

Some of Ridon’s colleagues at the Makabayan bloc, Bayan Reps. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate also lashed at the Aquino administration’s “criminal negligence.”

Colmenares said the government must be held answerable for the slow pace of rehabilitation, especially after Commission on Audit (CoA) reported that billions poured for rehabilitation remain unused. He called on House leadership to fast track the hearing of House Resolution 587, which was filed last year, that will probe the dismal rehabilitation efforts in Yolanda-devasted areas.

For his part, Zarate said the government is criminally liable for poor preparedness, response and rehabilitation.

Three murders

The ugly face of crime again showed itself in the killing of prominent realtor, Quintin Paredes San Diego, who was shot dead in his resort in Dingalan, Aurora.

San Diego was chairman of the Movement Against Dynasty (MAD). He was the lead convenor of the August 2 People’s Coalition which sponsored the Million People’s March to Rizal Park on Aug. 26, 2013 against the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). He was one of the petitioners in the case brought before the Supreme Court against PDAF.

In Molo, Iloilo City, Raymund Valera, election officer of Dumangas town, was shot dead. Investigators said the killing may be election-related or rooted on traffic altercation.

In Batangas City, PO3 Jessie Laisa was shot dead near the police sub-station in Barangay Alangilan where he was assigned.

Caritas’ calamity intervention

The Catholic Church’s Caritas Internationalis, a Vatican-based groups, had served 1.8 million people greatly affected by the calamity, providing them with disaster-resilient shelters, water and sanitation facilities and livelihood.

The overall typhoon response included the coordinated efforts of the Philippine Catholic Church and the various Caritas Internationalis member organizations from other countries, Executive Secretary of Caritas Philippines Fr. Edu Gariguez said.

In the last two years, Caritas Church has shelled out about P3.2 billion to help the worst-hit areas get back on their feet. The interventions cover relief up to the recovery phase, which include the provision of disaster-resilient shelters, water and sanitation facilities, livelihood assistance and other infrastructures such as schools and evacuation centers, Gariguez added.