2 years after Duterte’s order to give them homes, Yolanda survivors remain in danger zones

Thousands of families remain living near the deadly sea in Tacloban despite an order from President Rodrigo Duterte two years ago to speed up the construction of housing units for them.

In Dano Tingcungco's report on GMA News TV's “Quick Response Team” on Thursday, Duterte was quoted as saying in 2016: "I am not satisfied... I want this thing completed. I'll be back [in] December. Mike, gusto ko, sa harap nila, by December gusto ko makalipat na lahat."

He previously expressed dismay over the slow distribution of permanent housing units to the disaster victims and ordered presidential assistant for Visayas Mike Diño to oversee the matter.

The super typhoon battered Tacloban and several provinces in eastern and central Visayas on November 8, 2013.  Five years after, resettlement problems are still hounding the survivors.

"Marami pa rin 'yung nandu'n sa 'yung talagang nasalanta 'yung mga biktima lalo na 'yung malapit sa mga coastal areas na ang rehabilitation nila ay hindi pa rin tama or hindi pa rin nila makamit 'yung kanilang magandang kalagayan," People Surge president Efleda Bautista said.

Even some local government officials admitted that recovery efforts were not swift enough.

"Personally, I still find the recovery efforts very slow... A lot of families are still in the danger zone," Tacloban City Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin said.

Some residents said they have no choice but to wait for the government's plan for them.

"Ewan ko lang plano nila naghihintay lang kami, puro pangako. Wala kaming ibang malilipatan, wala kaming ibang bahay," Leslie Sarsosa said.

According to the Tacloban City Housing Office, over 17,000 families are in need of permanent resettlement but as of April 2018, only around 5,000 were able to receive such aid.

Those who have transferred to permanent housing units, on the other hand, were experiencing issues in the supply of water and electricity.

"Nagpapaypay po. Wala... mahirap. Hindi makakilos nang maayos po lalo na kapag madilim, madilim sa CR," resident Irene Andor said.

Resettlement sites were also far from their places of livelihood.

The Commission on Audit (COA) noted the lack of manpower and equipment of the contractor selected by the National Housing Authority (NHA) in its 2017 Audit Report.

NHA admitted to the lapse when it responded to COA.

"The sufficiency of the contractor's manpower and equipment for each of its project was not fully monitored," NHA said.

Senator Panfilo Lacson Sr., who was then Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery under the Aquino administration, also pointed out on Wednesday the lack of budget support from the government for the rehabilitation of the Yolanda-hit areas.

"Unfortunately, while the CRRP was approved by then President Aquino, very little budget support was appropriated to help the typhoon victims in the affected areas," Lacson said.

As of December 31, 2017, a total of P146.156 billion was released to implementing national government agencies, government-owned-and-controlled corporations, and local government units, according to the Presidential Assistant for Special Concerns.

Meanwhile, the Palace renewed its vow on Wednesday to speed up efforts for Yolanda victims and pushed for measures to create a disaster-resilient Philippines. — Dona Magsino/ LDF, GMA News