Duterte directs DSWD to buy tarpaulin sheets for homeless Odette victims

President Rodrigo instructed the Department of Social Welfare and Development to procure trapal or tarpaulin sheets that will serve as temporary shelters of families displaced by typhoon Odette in parts of Visayas and Mindanao.

In his Talk to the People weekly briefing, Duterte said the purchase of the materials should be done in 48 hours, if possible.

“I saw in some areas that people are sleeping with only plastics over their heads. …Buy trapal, the appropriate size for a family of maybe six people.  Trapal will protect them from the cold,” he said.

“If it can be done in 48 hours, just estimate the trapal that cover a family of six in areas without repairs yet,” he added.

Duterte said concerned agencies and local government units should also work to make use of the felled coconut trees as makeshift homes.

He observed that in Siargao, almost all trees fell or were uprooted due to Odette’s strong winds.

“Let’s get a chainsaw and process the woods there.  Iyong niyog, patong-patong, natumba.  Kung sinoman ang may-ari ng mga puno, ibgay mo na lang sa tao.  Magtayo tayo ng mini sawmill,” he said.

“It would come out as lumber, but coconut is not advisable to be used to build homes, but it’s just temporary.  Maybe we can paint them black,” he said.

Duterte said the DSWD assured him that even as the reconstruction of homes is a major hurdle in the areas hit by the typhoon, food is not as the supply is adequate.

At least 4.2 million people were affected by the typhoon, the strongest that slammed the country this year.—LDF, GMA News