Yolanda rehab ‘not even 10 percent’ complete

Carmela Fonbuena

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Lacson does not mince words in criticizing the slow work of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council

LACSON'S PLEDGE: Former Senator Panfilo Lacson says his office has sped up the process of rehabilitating areas devastated by Yolanda. Photo by Carmela Fonbuena

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The status of Yolanda rehabilitation work is “not even 10%” complete, according to Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (PARR) Panfilo Lacson.

“It’s not even 10 percent,” he told reporters in Baguio City on Saturday, February 15. Lacson was the keynote speaker of the Philippine Military alumni homecoming Saturday.

“The coordination continues. There is massive coordination and when all of those projects begin, it will be fast. You will be surprised. Once we start the full implementation of the rehabiliation, it will be like mushrooms,” Lacson said. 

On Sunday, February 16, the country will commemorate the 100th day since Yolanda devastated the Visayas region and killed more than 6,000 people. Haiyan tore across 171 towns and cities in the Visayas on November 8 last year.

Even the United Nations warned that millions of survivors of the country’s deadliest typhoon were still without adequate shelter. “The authorities, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations, and the Filipino people should be commended for the pace of progress…. But we can not afford to be complacent,” UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for the Philippines Luiza Carvalho said Saturday.

Lacson did not mince words in criticizing the slow work of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). (READ: NDRRMC: Too many cooks spoil the broth)

“The post-disaster assessment will be conducted by the NDRRMC. I was told it will be completed by March. I told the President in one of our Cabinet meetings, we cannot wait that long. The survivors cannot wait that long,” Lacson said.

“We at PARR did the bottom-up. Instead of waiting for the national, we went down to the local government unit,” he added.

There is an estimated P23 billion worth of pledges for Yolanda recovery but Lacson said only P700 million have so far been delivered.

Controversy surrounded the rehabilitation efforts after claims that the bunkhouses built were substandard. Lacson said the controversy helped because those attempting to misuse the money “laid low.” 

On Saturday, an estimated 200,000 members of the Iglesia ni Cristo joined a charity walk to raise funds for victims of the super typhoon. – Rappler.com

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