3 years after Yolanda: Over 200,000 families still homeless

MANILA, Philippines - Exactly three years to the day Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) slammed into the country, over 200,000 families are still in makeshift shelters without power and water, Vice President Leni Robredo disclosed.

Robredo, who chairs the Housing and Urban Development Council (HUDCC), yesterday said many survivor families live in temporary shelters under poor conditions.

As of Sept. 30, 29,661 housing units have been constructed while 20,287 were partially completed.

“Only 4,278 occupied permanent houses as of Sept. 30,” the Vice President said at a press briefing in her Quezon City office.  

Robredo cited the case of Palawan, where she said not even one of the 8,000 houses needed has been built so far. 

“What makes their situation worse is they were hit by a fire last week. Some of them stay in a covered court, while others are inside a gym,” she said.

Robredo has repeatedly blamed bureaucratic red tape for the delay in the construction of permanent shelters in Yolanda-ravaged areas.

“Funding is not the problem, but the requirements of government agencies such as the policy on converting agricultural land to residential,” she said. 

She also cited the requirement of the National Housing Authority (NHA) to have land titles first before approving construction of the houses.

But this will no longer be the case after Robredo signed last week an agreement with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and NHA to fast-track the construction of permanent houses for Yolanda survivors and informal settlers. 

The MOA will expedite the processing and issuance of certificates of tax exemptions for the transfer of lands intended for socialized housing projects to the NHA, while the BIR commits to eliminate unnecessary documentary requirements under the agreement.

Robredo noted that some of the relocation areas lack livelihood opportunities and basic utilities like water and electricity.

Robredo also said she would meet with Tacloban Mayor Cristina Romualdez today to discuss these matters. 

The lack of livelihood in the relocation areas, she said, may increase the chance of people returning to danger zones closer to the city.

The Vice President aims to resolve the backlog in housing for Yolanda victims by the end of 2018.  

“I think if we just focused (on the relocation) we can still finish it despite the delay,” she said.

DSWD: 62% of homes not yet done

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD) said their ongoing investigation found that 62 percent of the permanent homes funded by cash donations and by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are not yet constructed.

DSWD said among the primary causes of delay in the construction of core shelters was the failure of local government units to secure land where the core shelters for the disaster survivors are to be built.

“It was shameful because we are all aware of how much the survivors have already suffered during and after Typhoon Yolanda, and yet we were unable to provide for what was promised them – safe houses they can rest in as they try to recover from the extreme stress and trauma they suffered,” said DSWD assistant secretary Aleli Bawagan.

“Many of them lost their loved ones; most of them lost all they have worked for until the typhoon struck. The least that should have been done to help them was to ensure that they have safe and comfortable houses; we failed to do this,” she added.

The DSWD also admitted that the cash-for-work assistance given by the department to survivors was “not enough.” Many beneficiary-families were not able to focus on their house construction because they need to earn their daily income.

The resettlement sites for the core shelters were also far from the town proper, making suppliers of construction materials hesitant to bid for the contracts to build the core shelters.

The DSWD under Secretary Judy Taguiwalo has been critical of the previous department leadership’s handling of recovery and rehabilitation.

Taguiwalo blamed the previous measures of the DSWD to enforce the disaster resilience policy of the Aquino administration meant mainly to discourage the building of settlements in areas prone to environmental hazards such as flooding, storm surge, landslide and fault lines.

Taguiwalo had ordered a review of the status of donations and other funds that the department received for its relief and rehabilitation efforts with Yolanda survivors.

She said that she has been receiving complaints from various individuals and organizations regarding their negative experiences with DSWD during the distribution of relief goods as well as during the recovery and rehabilitation period.  – With Miriam Desacada, Rhodina Villanueva, Rainier Allan Ronda