Relocation not the only solution for Siargao coastal residents, gov't told
MANILA, Philippines — Instead of relocating coastal residents in typhoon-stricken Siargao Island inland, the government should put in place climate-resilient housing technologies and ensure efficient disaster preparedness systems to protect them should another typhoon hit their communities, environmental groups said.
The Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines said that relocation is not the best and only solution for residents of coastal areas in Siargao after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said they will not be allowed to return to their homes there. Instead, they will be given parcels of land in other parts of the island.
“Relocating them somewhere else other than what they call as their home is easier said than done. The coastal communities of Siargao are not simply returning to their houses, but also their livelihoods and source of income; if they are relocated without consideration of this, the results will also be devastating,” YACAP said on Twitter.
Instead of off-site relocation, the government can rehabilitate mangrove forests in the area, if applicable, as this can mitigate the impacts of cyclones and other disasters in the future, YACAP added.
Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, for its part, said that effective adaptive measures must be implemented.
“Coastal communities should instead be capacitated to adapt to coastal risks such as through adaptive housing technology, preemptive evacuation, and other disaster preparedness systems. This allows them to stay close to their livelihoods but still responsive to climate risks,” said Leon Dulce, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE.
Typhoon Odette (Rai)—the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year—unleashed violent winds and torrential rains that left hundreds of thousands homeless.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the typhoon damaged 531,128 houses in central and southern Philippines. It killed 397 people and left 83 missing.
Relocation
In meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte, DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said the agency and the local government of Siargao have agreed to ban coastal residents from returning to their homes “for their safety.”
He said the department will distribute parcels of lands to qualified tenured migrants under the Protected Area Community-Based Resource Management Agreement (PACBRMA).
PACBRMA is an agreement entered into by and between the DENR and organized tenured migrant communities or interested indigenous peoples in protected areas and buffer zones. It has a 25-year term, which is renewable for another 25 years.
Tenured migrants refer to occupants of protected areas who have actually and continuously occupied such areas for five years before its designation as such.
Siargao and its surrounding islets were declared as protected area in 1996 through Proclamation 902 by former President Fidel Ramos.
In response, Duterte said: “If you will rehabilitate a community and you would want to look for the space, if it’s a government land, give everything… Those idle government lands, idle lands of the government that are not productive, better give it to the people right away.”
Antiporda said the mayors in Siargao Island were told to identify temporary resettlement areas for the residents to stay in until the lands are distributed.
“Relocation should be voluntary and the provided areas should at least be able to cater their needs and livelihoods,” YACAP said.
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