IBON to Duterte admin: Rehabilitate Marawi, but don’t abandon Yolanda

Despite the rehabilitation of strife-torn Marawi City being the government's top priority, think tank IBON Foundation on Saturday reminded the Duterte administration not to "abandon" rehabilitation efforts in damaged Visayas communities hit by  Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013.

The government had earlier said it was considering using P5 billion in "unused" funds intended for Yolanda victims for the rehabilitation of Marawi City.

Despite the urgency of the Marawi rehabilitation, IBON said in a statement that the diversion of national funds from unfinished reconstruction efforts in the Eastern Visayas "indicates government neglect of rehabilitation work" in Yolanda-stricken areas.

“It gives the impression that the job has been done while in fact thousands of survivors are still without livelihoods and languish in substandard shelters and living conditions,” Ibon Foundation executive director Rosario Guzman said.

Nearly four years after Yolanda, IBON criticized the government's "slow-paced" response and "counter-productive" policies in these calamity-damaged areas.

IBON said more work has to be done to revive the livelihood, housing and resettlement clusters in the affected areas of Eastern Visayas.

Only 16,846 housing units or only 30 percent have been completed out of the 56,140 permanent houses targeted to be built in Yolanda-stricken areas in Eastern Visayas, while at least 11,957 units or more than 20 percent remain in progress, according to data IBON acquired from the Eastern Visayas regional office of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Moreover, only five water supply projects in 86 resettlement sites have been completed while only 59 were reported to have access to electric power.

"NEDA Region VIII attributed the slow pace of construction to unavailable lots, land acquisition issues, and procurement problems," IBON said.

"The delays in transfers according to NEDA Region VIII were primarily due to unavailable power and water supply in the sites," it added.

IBON said Typhoon Yolanda ravaged some of the country's poorest regions, including at least 12,122 barangays 591 municipalities, and 57 cities in 44 provinces.

The research group will be disclosing its findings on November 8 to mark the fourth anniversary of one of the strongest super typhoons ever to hit the Philippines.

Marawi clash

On October 17, President Rodrigo Duterte declared Marawi City as "liberated" from the ISIS-inspired threat of the Maute group, following an armed conflict with government forces which started on May 23.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar has been quoted as assuring the President that the government will not repeat the “mistakes” of the Aquino administration in handling post-Yolanda rehabilitation.

“The President is very clear on this, and he expressed disappointment for the facilities in Yolanda before, and definitely hindi na mauulit 'yung nangyari,” he said.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in September had said that the besieged city's rehabilitation in full would cost the government a ballpark figure of P50 billion. — Margaret Claire Layug/MDM, GMA News