Gov’t to present typhoon reconstruction plan to donors

MANILA, Philippines - The government will present to foreign donors and development partners next week its recovery and reconstruction plan for areas devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

“The final reconstruction plan will be presented on Dec. 18,” Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told The STAR.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director general Arsenio Balisacan would be in charge of coordinating the national plan for reconstruction.

The government had a meeting with its development partners on Nov. 28 to outline the initial Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Around 25 development partners – countries, multilateral organizations and aid agencies – were on hand to exchange views with the government on its post recovery and reconstruction plan, which includes shelter and employment, power restoration, education and infrastructure. The meeting was co-moderated by Del Rosario and Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima.

Also present were Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras, National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon and Balisacan.

Malacañang said the government is now on its “pathway to recovery” mode in the severely affected areas in Eastern Visayas.

Press Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the relief operations in the affected regions are already “tapering off.”

Coloma presented to newsmen the “pathways to recovery” chart enumerating the salient aspects of “disaster impact,” “critical immediate actions” and “short- and medium-term actions.”

“The full plan will be presented next week in a forum with the country‘s development partners,” Coloma said in a news briefing.

He said Balisacan would present NEDA’s framework for the “phased, cumulative response” for the rehabilitation efforts.

In the framework, “critical immediate actions” have been set in motion and will be completed within six months. “Short-term actions” will take up to a year to complete, while “medium-term actions” are expected to take about four years.

A clear example of critical actions is temporary housing, while short- and medium-term actions involve the construction of permanent housing for targeted groups, which means complete rebuilding, he said.

Newly appointed rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson, whose first official act was to join the Cabinet meeting, told his colleagues that “there is a very high degree of private sector interest in investing in the redevelopment of the typhoon-affected areas.“

Coloma said Lacson will request for concrete project proposals from the private sector.

Also yesterday, Coloma said President Aquino ordered the Cabinet to speed up the restoration of the economic and social conditions of the affected areas with the release of P238.6 million to the National Housing Authority (NHA) for the construction of permanent houses.

“The President directed the Cabinet to fast-track the restoration of the economic and social conditions of the affected areas, following the ‘build back better’ principle, with emphasis on attaining a higher degree of disaster resilience,” he said.

Aquino emphasized the need to speed up the process of enabling the people to rebuild their homes and resume productive livelihood and employment activities in communities that are fortified and protected from the harsh impact of natural disasters.

Budget Secretary Abad reported on Tuesday the release of P238.6 million to the NHA for the construction of permanent housing units for low- and marginal-income families and informal settlers affected by Typhoon Yolanda, Coloma said.

“The Cabinet focused anew on the critical immediate actions that are now being implemented to usher in the recovery phase while the relief phase is tapering off,” he said.

The NHA is gearing up for the short-term action of providing permanent housing even while Department of Public Works and Highways is giving attention to the critical immediate action, which is to build temporary shelters and bunkhouses, Coloma said.

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II also presented to Aquino a report on the local government unit basic recovery requirements that form an integral part of the critical immediate actions.

“This will cover 171 LGUs, including 46 cities and 125 municipalities in the severely affected areas within a 50-kilometer radius of the path taken by Yolanda. Priority attention will be given to the reconstruction of municipal halls, public markets and multi-purpose facilities that may also serve as temporary shelters and evacuation centers,” Coloma said.  – With Delon Porcalla