Negros Occ gets P3.9B from Yolanda rehab plan

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Negros Occidental was allocated with P3.9 billion out of the P167-billion typhoon Yolanda rehabilitation funds.

This was confirmed yesterday by lawyer Karen Jimeno, communications director of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery, as she revealed that the funds were partially implemented for the recovery and rehabilitation of the Yolanda-affected areas in the province.

Jimeno said the rehabilitation will be completed in 2016, when President Benigno Aquino III steps down from his post. "The challenge will be for the next administration to continue with the rehabilitation project that is consistent with the master plan to build back better," she said.

So far, only P50 billion from the Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan, which covers 171 cities and towns affected by Yolanda, was already implemented this year, or "roughly 30 percent" accomplishment of the government's master plan, said Jimeno.

She said P80 billion of the rehab fund will be implemented next year while the remaining money will be for 2016. Of the P50 billion released for 2014, P11 billion was allocated to National Housing Authority for the construction of the permanent housing units, she added.

Jimeno said the challenge for NHA is the identification of relocation sites. "NHA has already built 2,000 permanent housing units out of its target, which is 205,128," she said.

Jimeno dismissed talks that the rehabilitation efforts of the government is too slow. "Our international observers said the pace of recovery here compared to other countries, which was struck by disasters, were fast."

The claims of critics were not accurate since the rehabilitation plan was divided into different sectors including livelihood, infrastructures and housing, she said.

Jimeno added that the CRRP, which is 8,000 pages, was detailed down to the barangay level. The beneficiaries to the projects implemented were identified, and that "there are no ghost projects" included in the master plan, she added.