Duterte declares Yolanda 4th anniv a non-working day in Tacloban

President Rodrigo Duterte has declared November 8 a special (non-working) day in Tacloban City to allow its people to commemorate Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on Tuesday signed Proclamation No. 348 by the authority of the President.

Palace declares Nov. 8 a special (non-working) day in Tacloban to commemorate Typhoon Yolanda @gmanews pic.twitter.com/dks94KHwap

— Trisha Macas (@trishamacas) November 8, 2017

Super Typhoon Yolanda hit Tacloban and other parts of Visayas on November 8, 2013.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said more than 6,000 people were killed due to Yolanda's devastation while 1,000 remain missing and 30,000 more were injured.

In a statement, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the lessons of the devastation wrought by Yolanda in the Visayas should always be kept in mind by Filipinos.

"As we commemorate the deadliest typhoon that hit the Philippines on record and offer prayers to those who lost their lives, we also keep in mind the lessons learned brought by such great tragedy," he said in a statement.

"Yolanda is a story of faith and hope that characterizes our people as it is an account of tapang at malasakit that we must demand from our leaders," he added.

Roque said the Duterte administration will continue to pursue rehabilitation and reconstruction of Yolanda-affected communities.

"We have rehabilitated seaport and airport facilities and classrooms. Our shelter assistance in Tacloban City is the most successful model in the Yolanda Permanent Housing Program with the most number of resettlement houses occupied at 10,703 units from a total housing target of 14,433 houses," he said. —ALG, GMA News