climate change

Survivors occupy Yolanda ground zero to protest slow recovery

Bea Orante

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Survivors occupy Yolanda ground zero to protest slow recovery
'Our survival is non-negotiable,' say Yolanda survivors

MANILA, Philippines – Two years after Typhoon Yolanda (international codename: Haiyan), thousands of protesters gathered in Tacloban for two reasons: to demand accountability from the Aquino government and to protest the slow rehabilitation process.

Protesters on Friday, November 6, criticized the government for what they saw as incompetence and apathy in response to the typhoon, as well as its attempts at rehabilitating the area.

People Surge Chairperson Efleda Bautista lambasted the Aquino government for its “ineptness and the slow rehabilitation program.” 

During the crisis following the typhoon, the perceived slowness of rescue and removal efforts received international attention. Then interior secretary Manuel Roxas II claimed the government responded to the best of its abilities, but this did not stop critics from panning the administration.

On the Saturday, November 7, Vice President Jejomar Binay described the slow rehabilitation program for victims of the monster typhoon as a “management disaster.”

Messages on banig

People Surge brought banig, traditional handwoven mats used in many parts of the Philippines, with 5 different statements written on them:

  • Diri kami hingangalimot (We will never forget)
  • An amon kabuhi diri mapapalit (Our survival is non-negotiable)
  • Sukton an angay sukton! (Hold accountable those responsible!)
  • Ini an solusyon (This is the solution)
  • Duruyog nga paggios an magbabag-o han ngatanan (We need collective action to change everything)

Two of the messages, “We will never forget” and “Hold accountable those responsible,” condemn the current administration’s alleged negligence and politicization of the disaster. Two years after Yolanda, they also condemn the slow rehabilitation process.

Today many survivors still live in temporary shelters and under poor conditions despite the availability of funds, leading Marissa Cabaljao, People’s Surge secretary-general, to ask: “When do they plan to distribute those idle funds? Sa ‘tamang panahon (At the right time)’? When is this ‘tamang panahon’? When election is near?”

She added: “Our survival is non-negotiable. The slow and inefficient rehabilitation program, coupled with lack of basic social services, only makes us Yolanda survivors even more vulnerable from disasters.”

The government earlier said it is halfway through its recovery efforts, noting that full recovery will only come in 2017. (READ: Super Typhoon Yolanda recovery halfway done – NEDA)

“Overall, about 51% of all the projects we have set out to do have been completed and are ongoing. The others are still in various stages of procurement. By the end of 2016, we should be reaching most of what has been planned,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Arsenio Balisacan said on Thursday, November 5.

“You still have a large recovery coming from the private sector, where the bulk of the continual recovery and help will come from,” Balisacan added.

People, not big business 

Because the group sees Yolanda as an environmental issue, it also took to task the multi-national companies for allegedly “exploiting both the people and the environment.” They believe President Benigno Aquino III should be made accountable for being compliant in the entry of the companies.

“On the second year since Yolanda, we are more determined to unite in action with other disaster survivors to claim justice and ultimate system change,” Cabaljao said.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Secretary-General Renato Reyes called on survivors to “pursue demands for immediate rehabilitation where people, not big business, is at its core.”

They demanded systemic change involving answers to social issues such as “landlessness, joblessness, and the lack of basic social services,” an appeal in line with People Surge’s advocacy of campaigning for “rehabilitation program where people, not big business, is at its core.” – With a report from Voltaire Tupaz/Rappler.com

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