Palace: Creating disaster-resilient communities a ‘collective responsibility’

Building resilient disaster-resilient communities is a shared responsibility, Malacañang said Friday, as the nation commemorated the sixth anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

“The Office of the President recognizes that natural hazards have become the new normal in the 21st century, and therefore, we must continue to be relentless in creating safe, adaptive and resilient communities. It is our collective responsibility,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.

Panelo said Yolanda had taught Filipinos, especially those in government, “a hard lesson in public service.”

“Tapang and malasakit became buzzwords from a people weary of government apathy,” the Palace official said, even as he honored the sacrifices of frontline state workers, different organizations, volunteers and anonymous individuals.

“We laud the exemplary resilience of our own people, which in the face of great adversity, have remained steadfast and have moved forward.”

Yolanda hit Tacloban and other parts of the Visayas on November 8, 2013, killing more than 6,000 people and injuring over 28,000 others. The damage brought about by the typhoon was estimated to be around P89 billion.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in August that the government targeted 2020 for the completion of all housing projects for Yolanda victims, though most of the units should be finished by the end of this year.

But some Yolanda survivors said their impending relocation would mean deprivation of access to livelihood and other basic social services.

They also lamented the alleged lack of consultation with the affected communities in the rehabilitation efforts. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News