Dissuade PNoy from destroying homes, Pope urged

MANILA, Philippines - Survivors of supertyphoon Yolanda on Monday called on Pope Francis to  dissuade the Aquino administration from demolishing their bunkhouses in his name.

 

The families affected by Yolanda staged a protest action in their bunkhouses in Candahug Village in Palo, Leyte to appeal to the Pope to convince the government not to destroy their homes.

 

Pope Francis is set to arrive in the Philippines to visit the Yolanda-devastated area early next year.

 

"The Aquino government’s beautification frenzy in time to welcome the visit of Pope Francis here in Tacloban has launched a demolition spree that threatens the displacement of thousands of families. Survivors, mostly women and children, still live in bunkhouses a year after Yolanda destroyed their homes, only to be demolished again as if we are of that mere trash to be cleared out of sight and out of mind for an arriving VIP,” Gabriela - Eastern Visayas spokesperson Gina De Veyra said. 

 

International reports said 80 percent of Yolanda victims were women and children. Some 1.2 million houses were damaged or destroyed during the onslaught of Yolanda, and 500,000 of which were completely destroyed. 

 

A report by humanitarian organization Oxfam revealed that only 1 percent of all the target shelter beneficiaries have actually received permanent shelter.

 

A recent report of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR) said that only 364 housing units have been completed by the government in Tacloban and Tanauan, Leyte. 

 

Records of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Eastern Visayas (DSWD-8) revealed that 20,570 individuals still live in temporary bunkhouses in Samar, Leyte, and Eastern Samar provinces.

 

"Various people’s movements and humanitarian organizations have been hard at work for almost a year in various bayanihan (mutual aid) efforts for rehabilitation and reconstruction... Women are trying to survive despite the absence of government help. Many have become victims of prostitution and human trafficking. If they are going to demolish our homes, temporary as they are, it will force more women and children into deeper desperation," De Veyra said.