Prayers, protests mark first anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda

(Updated 6:51 p.m.) Candles lit up the streets of the central Philippine city worst-hit by the strongest storm to make landfall as thousands remembered more than 6,300 people who died a year ago when typhoon Yolanda  (Haiyan) smashed into the country.

Before dawn on Saturday, more than 5,000 people holding white balloons and candles mournfully walked around the regional capital Tacloban City, passing through areas flattened by Haiyan's 250 kph (155 mph) winds and seven-meter high storm surge.

Church bells peeled and sirens wailed at the start of a Roman Catholic mass at the city's almost half-hectare mass grave site where nearly 3,000 people storm victims are buried. Hundreds are still unaccounted.

"It's important that we make it meaningful, so for the next generations people will remember this," the city's mayor, Alfred Romualdez, told Reuters.

Typhoon Haiyan wiped out or damaged practically everything in its path as it swept ashore on Nov. 8, 2013, destroying around 90 percent of the city of Tacloban in Leyte province.

More than 14.5 million people were affected by the storm in six regions and 44 provinces. More than four million people still remain homeless.

Protesting for homes, jobs

In Tacloban, hundreds of activists, farmers and fishermen protested in Tacloban City calling on the government to provide more homes and jobs.

Protesters burned a nine-foot tall effigy of President Benigno Aquino and accused his administration of diverting aid and reconstruction funds.

"Our call is justice for the criminal negligence of our president and the government, and we want him to step down," said Efleda Bautista, chairperson of People Surge, a group of Haiyan survivors.

In Manila, dozens of Climate Change activists marched near the Presidential Palace and lit candles in solidarity with the typhoon victims.

Activists blamed the devastation on climate change and urged the Aquino government to press the issue at an international level.

"Climate change is here to stay with us and climate change is here to kill us unless we do something to cut down on the greenhouse gas emission polluting the atmosphere, thus causing global warming and climate change," said Rasti Delizo, spokesperson of Sanlakas, which is a nationalist group which advocates human rights, social welfare and the protection of the environment.

'Not politics'

The government estimates it needs almost 170 billion pesos ($3.8 billion) to rebuild the affected communities, including the construction of a four-meter high dike along the 27-km coastline to prevent a repeat of the disaster.

President Benigno Aquino, in a visit to nearby Samar island on Friday, unveiled a plan to relocate Tacloban airport away from the coastline and the building of more than 205,000 permanent homes to resettle displaced families.

"This is not politics," Aquino told reporters, defending his government against criticism it was slow to respond to the disaster, citing reports showing reconstruction work was moving at a faster pace than the 2004 tsunami in Aceh.

"I would hope we can move even faster and I will push everybody to move even faster, but the sad reality is the scope of work you need to do can really not be done overnight."

Two days before the killer typhoon's anniversary, Malacañang declared rehabilitation efforts will be completed in 2016, the year that Aquino will step down from his post.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said 30 percent of the 25,000 projects in the comprehensive Yolanda rehabilitation master plan will be finished by end-2014.
 
He added that half of these projects will be undertaken next year, while the remaining 20 percent will be done by 2016.
 
"Lahat po ‘yon may timeline. Ang pokus..., ano na ‘yung natapos noong 2014, ano pa ‘yung gagawin sa 2015, at ano naman ‘yung matitira pang proyekto sa 2016," Coloma told reporters on Wednesday.

Losing faith

Amid promises of assistance, most of the surviving families are still living on P167 ($3.7) per day, independent think tank IBON Foundation said in a report last Wednesday.

The non-profit organization claimed the survey it conducted showed eight of 10 families in Yolanda-affected areas earn less than P5,000 on average each month, or P167 per day.

Some survivors have stopped believing the government will be able to help them.

In an interview on GMA News TV's "News To Go" a day before Yolanda's first anniversary, survivor Lacandazo of Palo, Leyte, who lost 22 relatives in the tragedy, said: "Hindi na ako umaasa (sa tulong mula sa gobyerno), dapat noon pa. Kung magbibigay ng tulong ang gobyerno, inasikaso na dapat noon pa..."

Emily Sagalis bore her daughter Bea Joy in the Tacloban airport three days after Yolanda, but until now she struggles to feed her little one.

International aid

Meanwhile, the international community reassured the Philippines of their continued support for recovery work.
 
The United States Embassy said, "Whether this was temporary assistance with food, water and shelter, or long-term assistance with building new weather-resistant school and health buildings, training emergency responders, or integrating disaster preparedness into local school curriculum, the United States remains dedicated to the Philippines."
 
In a YouTube video, US Ambassador Philip Goldberg said they have been working with Philippine authorities in the recovery and rehabilitation stage.

Also, Australia's Ambassador Bill Tweddell reaffirmed support for recovery efforts.

Germany has also pledged billions in monetary support, in addition to flying relief goods.

The United Kingdom will be sending its own team of meteorologists to help enhance state weather agency PAGASA's response preparedness when calamities as devastating as Typhoon Yolanda stikes. — Reuters with reports from Vida Cruz and Joel Locsin/LBG/JST, GMA News