Last April, President Aquino transferred the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of all disaster-related programs projects and activities (PPAs) from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery to NEDA.Marcelino Pascua/PCOO
MANILA, Philippines – More than two years after the massive destruction brought by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), only 13,335 housing units have been completed, with construction of 79,219 houses ongoing and scheduled for completion by December 2016.
In a report released by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), it attributed the slow pace of building resettlement sites to policies on procurement and land acquisition and the many required permits and clearances needed to start certain projects.
“NEDA is intensively coordinating efforts to address these policy and implementation issues with the concerned agencies,” Arsenio M. Balisacan, Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA director general, said.
Last April, President Aquino transferred the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of all disaster-related programs projects and activities (PPAs) from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery to NEDA.
Balisacan noted that resettlement of the survivors from the danger zones remains the most challenging among the recovery efforts.
“Nevertheless, the Philippine government – working closely with its development partners, the private sector and non-governmental organizations – continues to see steady progress in the Yolanda recovery and rehabilitation efforts,” he said.
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The overall weighted physical accomplishment (OWPA) of completed and ongoing Yolanda PPAs now stands at 63.2 percent – or 30.3 percent completed and 33.1 percent ongoing. Most of the ongoing projects are scheduled for completion by 2016.
“The government is making strides in rebuilding resilient communities in the Yolanda corridors in the Visayas regions, as well as in Mimaropa region, particularly through sustainable infrastructure development and responsive social services,” the report noted.
The reconstructed roads, bridges, ports, telecommunications facilities, as well as health and education facilities, are now subscribing to more stringent structural standards, NEDA said.
Many Yolanda survivors now have better prospects with the help of government’s various livelihood assistance programs, it added.
The Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) benefited 788,747 households or 76.3 percent of the targeted 1,033,827 families whose houses were damaged by the typhoon.
The families with partially damaged houses received P10,000 worth of cash or materials; while families with totally damaged houses received P30,000 worth of cash or materials. The ESA was intended to help affected families build sturdier houses provided they are away from the danger zones. Distribution of ESA is still ongoing.
A total 48,995 Yolanda survivors, or 89.4 percent of the targeted 54,825 beneficiaries, have had their fishing boats repaired or replaced.
Meanwhile, thousands more received fishing gears and paraphernalia than originally targeted: 76,598 sets were distributed while the original target was 68,636; distribution of an additional 4,779 sets is ongoing.
The distribution of rice and corn seeds is also nearing completion, with 94,020 or 85.7 percent of 101,708 targeted bags distributed to beneficiaries.
In addition to restoring the livelihoods of farmers and fishers, the government has also undertaken to provide new livelihood opportunities to survivors; an example of this is the entrepreneurship training – majority (80.22 percent) of the targeted 364 trainings have already been completed.
