MANILA, Philippines – A project that entails Metro Manila cities “adopting” two or more localities affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) has brought much-needed relief and hope.

Nida Gabornes, mayor of the small coastal town of Lawaan in Eastern Samar, said she feels much lighter now that Navotas City has taken her calamity-struck town under their wing.

“Gumagaan yung pakiramdam ko. Parang mayroon ka nang pag-asa. Nakikita ko na may plano sila para sa amin (I feel lighter. It’s like there is hope. I see that they have plans for us),” she told Rappler while she was in Manila collecting more relief goods for her hometown.

She said she feels much more optimistic now than a day ago when she felt “neglected” because no relief goods were arriving. 

Lawaan, situated right beside the sea, was isolated for 5 days since Yolanda struck on November 8. Located between badly-hit Tacloban City and Guiuan town, it also experienced a storm surge, freakishly powerful winds, and heavy rainfall. Many houses were completely destroyed. All have no roofs. The townspeople are reconstructing their homes as best they can, using tarpaulin or metal debris. (READ: Eastern Samar residents not ready for storm surge)  

Power still has not been restored in Lawaan. Globe and Smart networks are still down, making communication nearly impossible. As of this writing, there are 11 casualties and 193 injured. 

Though relief goods started arriving Thursday, November 14, the amount is nowhere near enough to feed all the typhoon victims. Gabornes is in Manila precisely to ensure the relief goods keep coming.

Helping her in her mission is Navotas City mayor John Rey Tiangco, who has adopted both Lawaan and Giporlos, another Eastern Samar town. The move is in support of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) “Adopt-a-town” scheme in which Metro Manila’s LGUs help worst-hit localities in Leyte, Samar, Cebu and Palawan.

Last November 14, the 17 local government officials of the megacity identified which localities were most in need of “adoption.” Each of the Metro Manila LGUs were matched with two or more Yolanda-hit localities. They were assigned to assist the localities in relief operations, rebuilding, and returning to normalcy.

“It will be up to the sponsoring Metro Manila LGU to implement programs or mechanisms – including technical and engineering experts – with local government expertise that will facilitate the recovery of their adopted localities and extend the much-needed assistance to the displaced residents,” said MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino.

Working together

Lawaan is already getting help from its “parent” city.

On November 15, Gabornes met with Tiangco to discuss relief operations and even Lawaan’s long-term recovery plan.

“They will help us with our immediate needs like blankets, mosquito nets, relief goods and tarpaulins for temporary shelter. They are already packing goods for us,” said Gabornes.

The discussion allowed both local government leaders to identify the specific needs of Lawaan. It led to Tiangco promising Gabornes he would supply the town with chainsaws which would be used to cut fallen coconut trees to be used as temporary roofs.

Navotas will be onboard for rebuilding efforts as well, to help Lawaan get back on its feet.

“We agreed that the next focus would be reestablishing the livelihood of the people. We talked about the cost of buying boats for the fishermen who lost their boats during the storm. They (Navotas) will bring an engineering team there to help reconstruct the municipal building,” said Gabornes.

While fishing is still impossible, the two localities considered other sources of livelihood to pursue in the meantime. Navotas officials suggested seaweed farming, a livehood that would require very little capital and would be quick to earn from. Seaweed can be harvested in 45 days unlike other crops that take more than 3 months to grow, Gabornes added.

Got your back

Other Yolanda-devastated localities have already been assigned to Metro Manila local government units. Here is the list:

• Quezon City – Palompon and Tolosa, Santa Fe (Leyte)
• Pasig City –  Mayorga, Palo (Leyte), Barotac Viejo, Barotac Nuevo, Dumangas (Iloilo)
• Mandaluyong City – Isabel and Tanauan (Leyte)
• Marikina City – Hernani and Lorente (Eastern Samar)
• San Juan – Ormoc City and Albuera (Leyte)
• Taguig City – Gen McArthur, Guiuan, Salcedo, Mercedes and Quinapondan (Eastern Samar)
• Las Piñas City – Julita and Dulag (Leyte)
• Caloocan City – Javier, McArthur, La Paz (Leyte)
• Malabon City – Bogo (Cebu)
• Navotas City – Lawaan and Giporlos (Eastern Samar)
• Valenzuela City – Basey and Marabut (Eastern Samar)

MMDA has adopted Coron in Palawan and Sulat in Eastern Samar.

The “adopt-a-town” scheme was implemented amid criticism from local and international media of the national government’s slow and disorganized response to Yolanda. – Rappler.com