Government focuses on building temporary
shelters for typhoon victims
(TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) The government is now
focusing on how to provide temporary shelters for the people displaced and left
homeless by super typhoon "Yolanda" here and other provinces in the
Visayas.
During the regular inter-agency meeting here
Tuesday, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said the government has
already reached all the areas affected by the disaster and has provided their
basic needs such as food, water and other non-food items.
"The next challenge is really roof over the
heads and that's where we are focusing now," Soliman said.
Department of Public Works and Highways Regional
Director Rolando De Asis said, as of Monday, the government already started
constructing 116 units of bunkhouses.
"One unit of bunkhouses can accommodate
about 24 families. There is one common bathroom, one cooking area," he
said.
The DPWH has built 21 units of bunkhouses in
Leyte, 26 in Western Samar, 69 in Eastern Samar, and 10 units in Tacloban City.
These provinces were among the areas badly hit
by Yolanda, the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines, which left at least
5,000 dead.
Soliman said the government will prioritize
those families who have pregnant mothers, children, senior citizens and persons
with disability.
The families will be identified by the City
Social Welfare and Development with the help of the DSWD national team.
Soliman said that while the bunkhouses would
last for only two months, the government is also preparing for the construction
of permanent shelters for the calamity victims.
She said President Benigno S. Aquino III will be
presiding a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the rehabilitation and
reconstruction efforts in damaged areas.
The design and resiliency of the houses are
beIng considered in the rebuilding and reconstruction being planned. PND (jb)
President Aquino has declared 2013-2022 as
Philippine decade of ‘Make the Right Real’ for persons with disabilities
In support of the 3rd Asian and Pacific Decade
of Persons with Disabilities, President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared the
period of 2013-2022 as the Philippine Decade of "Make the Right Real"
for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
The Chief Executive issued the directive by
virtue of Proclamation No. 688 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa
Jr. on November 22, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio
Coloma Jr. said during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Tuesday.
Proclamation No. 125 (series 1993) and
Proclamation No. 240 (series 2002) proclaimed the nationwide observance in the
Philippines of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities in
1993-2002 and 2003-2012, respectively.
The High-Level Intergovernment Meeting on the
Final Review of the Implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled
Persons, 2003-2012 was held at Incheon, Republic of Korea from October 29 to
November 2, 2012.
In the said meeting, the participants, which
included the Philippine delegation, adopted the Ministerial Declaration on the
Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022, and the
Incheon Strategy to "Make the Right Real" for Persons with
Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (Incheon Strategy).
During the National Council on Disability
Affairs' regional consultation, the observance of a third decade of PWDs for
the period of 2013-2022 was recommended to build on the gains towards
disability-inclusive development.
The President directed the National Council on
Disability Affairs to lead all disability-related efforts by formulating and
issuing a comprehensive National Plan of Action for Decade which translates the
objectives of Batas Pambansa Blg. 344, Republic Act Nos. 7277, 9442, 10070 and
10524, and other disability-related laws, programs and policies into concrete
programs, activities and projects.
The President also enjoined all departments,
agencies and instrumentalities of the national government and local government
units (LGUs) to implement plans, programs and activities geared towards the
development of PWDs in accordance with the Incheon Strategy.
The National Council on Disability Affairs shall
carry out the President's directive in consultation with the private sector,
civil society and LGUs.
The funds necessary for the implementation of
the provisions shall be sourced from the appropriations of concerned government
agencies. PND (js)
Transfer of affected families to temporary
bunkhouses signals transition to early recovery and reconstruction for
‘Yolanda’ affected families, Coloma says
The transfer of affected families from tents and
evacuation centers to temporary bunkhouses signals the transition from relief
to early recovery and reconstruction for typhoon-affected communities,
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.
In response to the directive of President
Benigno S. Aquino III, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) began
the construction of bunkhouses in identified sites in Tacloban, Palo, and Ormoc
in Leyte, and Basey and Marabut in Samar over the weekend, Coloma said during
the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Tuesday, Coloma said
The construction of bunkhouses in Guiuan,
Hernani, and Borongan began Monday, the Communications Secretary said.
"At least 2,400 families will be resettled
in this first phase. In coordination with the local governments, DPWH has begun
site preparation in identified resettlement areas to facilitate transfer to the
bunkhouses to be completed," Coloma said.
The DPWH is also preparing sufficient stocks of
construction materials such as coco lumber, wooden frames, and GI sheet roofing
for distribution to thousands of affected families whose houses were partially
damaged, so they may return to their homes as soon as possible, Coloma
stressed.
"As the people of Leyte and Samar begin to
resettle and rebuild their homes, they are now being mobilized to participate
in the reconstruction efforts under the cash-for-work or food-for-work
programs," Coloma said.
"Additionally, DOLE is prepared to roll out
an emergency employment program, involving up to 12,500 jobs whereby workers
may conduct clearing and cleaning activities," he said. PND (js)
Fumigation starts in evacuation centers in
Tacloban
(TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) The Philippine government
on Tuesday assisted the Japan Disaster Relief-Self Defense Forces (JDR-SDF)
Units in conducting fumigation at the Tacloban City Convention Center, which
has temporarily housed hundreds of evacuees of typhoon “Yolanda” (international
name Haiyan).
About fifteen men of Japan Self-Defense Forces
sanitized the entire evacuation center, visited each and every room designed to
prevent the spread of diseases in the aftermath of the deadly typhoon.
Department of Health Assistant Secretary Paulyn
Rosell-Ubial, who also assisted the defense teams, said this will be the start
of the fumigation in various evacuation centers and hospitals here.
"They will go around the city, in all
evacuation centers, hospitals and other populated areas," Ubial said.
She said while there is still no reported cases
of dengue yet, she reminded the evacuees to remain vigilant and to maintain
cleanliness in their respective temporary shelters.
"Always protect yourself. Use mosquito nets
and always clean your surroundings to protect you from diseases," she
added.
She noted that the top five most common ailments
and cases recorded in this city are upper respiratory tract infection, wounds,
acute water diarrhea, hypertension and fever.
Ubial, meanwhile, noted that the chemicals used
in fumigation are non- toxic and safe.
In an interview with Hirochika Namekawa, deputy
director development assistance policy planning division of Japan's
International Cooperation Bureau, he said the fumigation is just one of the
assistance being given by Japan to the Philippines since the typhoon struck.
Aside from epidemic prevention, Japan has also
been helping in transporting relief supplies and conducting medical relief
activities.
More than 100 personnel of special defense
forces of Japan has been deployed to the Philippines in addition to Japan's
transport assistance such as three CH-47 transport helicopters, three UH-1
utility helicopters, transport vessel "Osumi", escort vessel
"Ise", supple vessel "Towada", two KC-767 air tanker, seven
C-130 transport aircrafts and U-4 utility support aircraft.
Japan has granted the Philippines a total of
US$52.1 million in financial and humanitarian assistance. PND (jb)
President Aquino remains committed to leading
the nation towards equitable progress
President Benigno S. Aquino III remains
committed to leading the nation towards equitable progress regardless of the
survey ratings, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary
Herminio Coloma Jr. said.
"The President has always maintained that
he will always do right by the people and fulfill his sworn mandate regardless
of the survey ratings," Coloma said during the regular press briefing in
Malacanang on Tuesday following reports that President Aquino III’s
satisfaction rating dropped to 49 percent in the latest Social Weather Stations
survey.
"So the President and the administration
remain focused on achieving our priority programs in the Philippine Development
Plan," the Communications Secretary said.
Based on the September 20 to 23 polls conducted
by the SWS, the President’s net rating was pegged at 49 percent – with 68
percent expressing satisfaction over his performance while 19 percent declaring
their dissatisfaction.
"Kung ang tinutukoy ninyo ay ‘yung third
quarter ratings nila, makailang beses na po tinugunan ‘yan. Siguro po ang mas
relevant na dapat hintayin ay ang kanilang fourth quarter ratings," Coloma
said.
The President continues to implement reforms in
pursuing the government's goals that are anchored on attaining inclusive growth
and restoring public confidence in government institutions.
"The record would show that, for the past
three years, the President has maintained a consistently high performance
approval and trust ratings. So we are reasonably confident that in time the
people will understand what government is doing and will be able to assess
fairly the performance of their President and government," he said. PND
(js)
DSWD to set up repacking hubs in ‘Yolanda’-hit
areas in Visayas
(TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) The Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be setting up more repacking hubs in the
Visayas to improve efficiency in delivering basic services to typhoon “Yolanda”
(Haiyan) victims.
DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman, at a regular
inter-agency meeting Tuesday, said the government will no longer be repacking
relief goods in Manila and will be opening hubs in areas hit by the typhoon
such as Catbalogan, Ormoc and Tacloban.
"Ang tingin namin, kaya na natin dito.
Hindi na po kailangang manggaling ng Maynila...Dito na mag-rerepack," she
said.
"Catbalogan to serve the Eastern Samar
side, Ormoc to serve the Western Leyte side, and Tacloban to serve the Eastern
Leyte side and Tacloban City," she explained.
The DSWD also has a repacking center in Cebu
which provides relief goods to Ormoc.
Soliman stressed the need to speed up the
distribution of relief goods in Tacloban noting that there are still reports of
bottleneck in warehouses and typhoon victims allegedly have yet to receive
relief goods.
Transportation Secretary Emilio Jun Abaya is
tasked to ensure the faster mobilization of relief goods in repacking hubs in
Visayas.
Soliman said she requested 16 more trucks from
DOTC to transport non-food items such tents, hygiene kits, and step-up sanitary
toilets, provided by various foreign donors.
As of 6 p.m. Monday, Social Welfare Assistant
Secretary Cheche Cabrera reported that the DSWD has delivered 1,611,489 food
packs to 273,783 displaced families.
The agency has also provided 197,984 liters of
water and 61,900 pieces of canned goods and high energy biscuits to affected
families. PND (jb)
Department of Trade and Industry to launch
longer diskwento Caravan on Wednesday in Tacloban
(TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) The Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI) will be launching another Diskwento Caravan on Wednesday
here, which offers basic goods at a lower price.
DTI OIC Regional Director Stanley Tabiando said
the caravan will no longer be a one-day event but it will run until the
businesses in Tacloban return to normal.
"We are happy to announce that tomorrow,
Wednesday, there will be a Diskwento Caravan at RTR Plaza," Tabiando said.
Aside from the basic commodities and products
initially available in the caravan, it will also now be offering bread and
construction materials for Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) victims.
The caravan will open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Security will be provided for the caravan to ensure peace and order.
"We will have 20 container vans [that's
why] we are looking for more cemented areas where we can hold these
caravans," Tabiando said.
As part of the normalization, City Administrator
John Tecson Lim reported that several drug stores and more restaurants have
opened since the typhoon hit.
About 12 banks have also resumed its operations
but only limited to over-the-counter transactions.
East West Bank and Union Bank were among the
latest banks to resume operations.
Lim also reported the resumption of operations
of five radio stations including Radyo ng Bayan.
"Everything is going back to normal,"
he said.
The government is targeting to restore power
here by December 24. Lim said 100 additional personnel coming from the Energy
department in Luzon and Mindanao will be coming to Tacloban to ensure
restoration of power as soon as possible.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, meanwhile, met
with several businessmen here to hear their concerns, which the official
intended to bring up during the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to be presided
over by President Benigno Aquino III.
Purisima was joined by Bureau of Internal
Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman.
PND (jb)
