UN probes ‘Yolanda’ aid to Philippines

 News
Dec 082013
 
UN probes ‘Yolanda’ aid to Philippines

Associated Press 9:07 am | Monday, December 9th, 2013 United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos. AP FILE PHOTO CANBERRA, Australia – The United Nations humanitarian chief said she is investigating reports that aid has yet to reach remote parts of the Philippines a month after a devastating typhoon. Valerie Amos, who is in Australia for aid talks with the government, said on Monday that she is still hearing “worrying reports in the media … where people said they hadn’t received any aid as yet.” Typhoon”Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan)  and its tsunami-like storm surge plowed through coastal areas of the Philippines on Nov. 8, leaving over 5,700 dead. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: aid , Haiyan , Philippines , Typhoon , UN , Valerie Amos , Yolanda Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate: c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94

Frustrated by slowness, kin of Maguindanao massacre victims seek help from UN

 News
Nov 232013
 
Frustrated by slowness, kin of Maguindanao massacre victims seek help from UN

Relatives mark 4th year of unresolved Ampatuan massascre . Relatives of five of the 58 killed, including 32 journalists, in the Ampatuan massacre in Maguindanao on November 22, 2009, hold photos of their loved ones on Friday at GMA Network, as they mark the fourth year of the tragedy. Also in photo is lawyer Harry Roque Jr (center). Joe Galvez On the fourth year anniversary of the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre, several complainants led by a Southeast Asia-based group advocating for freedom of expression filed a petition before three United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs to compel the Philippine government to speed up the investigation and prosecution of 196 individuals involved in the case. At a press conference held Saturday at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, representatives from Media Defense Southeast Asia (MDSEA) on Saturday transmitted separate petitions via e-mail to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial and Arbitrary Killings, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Reparations calling them to look into the cases of the massacre victims. A total of 58 people, including 32 journalists, were killed in the grisly 2009 massacre, considered as the worst single-day election-related violence in Philippine history and the single worst attack on journalists ever recorded in the world.  The victims were part of a convoy that was supposed to accompany then-Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu when he was going to file his certificate of candidacy to run as governor against then-incumbent Maguindanao Read More …

UN: More funds for ‘Yolanda’ victims

 News
Nov 232013
 
UN: More funds for ‘Yolanda’ victims

U.S. Marines provide safe drinking water to typhoon survivors Thursday Nov. 21, 2013 at Tacloban city, Leyte province in central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded, slammed into central Philippine provinces Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations appealed for more aid for typhoon victims in the Philippines on Friday, increasing the original amount it sought to raise by $47 million (P2 billion) to $348 million (P15 billion). UN Undersecretary General Valerie Amos, the world body’s humanitarian chief, made the announcement at the UN headquarters in New York after seeing for herself the situation in the hardest-hit areas of the Visayas, including Tacloban City, which she visited twice in two weeks. “A massive disaster like this requires a massive response,” a UN press statement reported Amos as saying at a news conference in New York on Friday. “Much more needs to be done. Food, clean water and shelter remain the top priorities. Vast numbers of vulnerable people are still exposed to bad weather and need basic shelter. Families who have lost their homes will need substantial longer-term support from the international community to ensure they have the means to rebuild their houses,” she added. The UN launched on November 12 an action plan seeking to raise $301 million (P13 billion) from the international community to support six months of relief and recovery operations in Eastern Visayas, including the provision of emergency food, shelter and water Read More …

Yolanda death toll feared to hit 7,000

 News
Nov 232013
 
Yolanda death toll feared to hit 7,000

TACLOBAN — The number of people dead or missing after one of the world’s strongest typhoons struck the Philippines climbed towards 7,000 on Saturday, as the United Nations warned much more needed to be done to help desperate survivors. The government’s confirmed death toll rose to 5,235, with another 1,613 people still missing more than two weeks after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) destroyed entire towns across a long stretch of islands in the central Philippines. Yolanda now rivals a 1976 tsunami on the southern island of Mindanao as the deadliest recorded natural disaster to strike the Philippines, which endures a never-ending battle against typhoons, earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. The typhoon has triggered a giant, international aid effort, with dozens of countries and relief organizations rushing to deliver food, water and health services to more than four million people who lost their homes. However UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, after visiting the disaster zones, warned the world was still not responding fast enough. “Much more needs to be done. Food, clean water and shelter remain the top priorities,” Amos said as a UN appeal for funds was raised from $301 million to $348 million. Amos said huge numbers of people were still exposed to bad weather in the nine provinces ravaged by the storm, as she warned particularly of the dangers for babies, children and mothers. “I am very concerned that some 1.5 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition and close to 800,000 pregnant and nursing mothers need Read More …

UN execs: PHL should empower local govts to face disasters

 News
Nov 212013
 
UN execs: PHL should empower local govts to face disasters

Two weeks after Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) left a path of destruction in the Philippines, two United Nations (UN) officials on Thursday advised the country’s leaders to further empower its local government units (LGUs) in facing disasters. Margareta Wahlström, head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, said the Philippine government should not easily forget and take for granted the widespread damage caused by the recent super typhoon. “The major obstacle to a disaster preparedness system is that we don’t really take disasters seriously enough. We suffer a lot when they happen and then we forget, but the human cost, the financial cost to society and the political cost is too high,” Wahlström said during a press briefing at the Senate. The UN official was at the Senate for the launch of the “How Safe is Your School?” program, a crowdsourcing initiative being developed by the intergovernmental organization to assess the diaster preparedness of educational structures in the Philippines. Wahlström advised the Philippine government to strictly enforce its environmental laws, and to take disaster preparedness at the local level. “The opportunity now is to use this very tragic year to really enforce the functionality of this system and to ensure that even at the most local level, the municipalities and the provinces, there is enough capacity and attention to the issues of disaster,” the UN official said. At least 4,011 individuals have been confirmed dead after Yolanda ripped through the Visayas and parts of Luzon two weeks ago, based on Read More …

UN gathers $193M for Typhoon Yolanda victims

 News
Nov 192013
 
UN gathers $193M for Typhoon Yolanda victims

More relief aid delivered for Samar typhoon victims. Residents carry relief boxes from US Aid after an Osprey aircraft of the US Navy landed at a remote village near the eastern Samar town of Guiuan, on Tuesday, November 19, 10 days after Typhoon Yolanda, one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded, made its first landfall in this town. Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay The United Nations has so far raised about $193 million in assistance for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), which battered the central Philippines last November 8. “I would like to thank member states, the private sector and the public around the world for their immense generosity and support for the Filipino people so far,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Valerie Amos Tuesday. “It is clear that their plight has touched everyone,” The amount included both cash and in-kind donations as of November 18. “This includes $87 million for the Haiyan Action Plan that was launched by the Humanitarian Country Team on 12 November. ” Amos noted. Earlier, the UN made an urgent aid appeal to the international community to raise some $301 million to help the Philippines recover from the devastation caused by the super typhoon, the strongest typhoon in history to have made landfall.  “However, we know that the appeal figure will increase significantly,” the UN humanitarian chief added. The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council has so far listed the number of fatalities at  3982. The injured number around 18,000, Read More …

World sends emergency relief to battered PHL

 Entertainment
Nov 122013
 
World sends emergency relief to battered PHL

Marines board a KC-130J Hercules aircraft Nov. 10, 2013, at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, moments before departing for a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission to the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David N. Hersey MANILA (AFP) – The United States, Britain, Australia and the United Nations mobilised emergency aid to the Philippines as the scale of the devastation unleashed by Super Typhoon Haiyan continued to emerge Tuesday. The Pentagon sent Marines and equipment while Britain was to send a ship and a transporter plane to assist with the relief effort followng the typhoon, which may have killed more than 10,000 people in what is feared to be the country’s worst natural disaster. Even Vietnam, despite coping itself with a mass evacuation programme as a weakened Haiyan swung through its territory Monday, provided emergency aid worth $100,000 and said it “stands by the Philippine people in this difficult situation”. The relief operation was focused on the city of Tacloban on Leyte island, four days after one of the biggest storms in recorded history demolished entire communities across the central Philippines and left countless bodies as well as gnawing desperation in its wake. Delivering on a promise of quick help from President Barack Obama, about 90 US Marines and sailors based in Japan flew into Tacloban aboard two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, after receiving a bird’s eye view of the immense scale of destruction across Leyte. They brought communication and logistical equipment Read More …

UN to help assess ‘Yolanda’ damage, set up emergency communication lines

 News
Nov 092013
 
UN to help assess ‘Yolanda’ damage, set up emergency communication lines

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:29 pm | Saturday, November 9th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations and its affiliated agencies deployed teams on Saturday to assist the Philippine government in assessing the damage wrought by Supertyphoon Yolanda and establish emergency communication lines as power and telephone lines remained down in much of the Visayas. The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said organizations including the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination, the Asia-Pacific Humanitarian Partnership, Télécoms Sans Frontière and MapAction arrived in the country on Saturday “to assist the government in establishing coordination hubs and conduct initial assessments.” The UN said members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Emergency Rapid Assessment Team “have deployed to support coordination and emergency telecommunication.” Initial UN assessment showed that some 18 million people were affected and more than 126,000 people living on the path of the typhoon, particularly in Eastern Visayas, had been evacuated early on as a precaution. It cited reports of flooding, landslides and wind damage in Eastern Samar and Leyte, the islands where the typhoon first came ashore early Friday morning. UNOCHA said a needs assessment was under way “prioritizing shelter, food, health, water, sanitation and health facilities, camp management and logistics.” Related Stories: Expressions of sympathy, aid pour in as ‘Yolanda’ exits PH US, Great Britain cite Filipinos’ resilience in the wake of Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ EU expresses solidarity with typhoon-battered Philippines Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and Read More …

UN seeks int’l aid for Bohol

 News
Oct 252013
 
UN seeks int’l aid for Bohol

Volunteers for and members of the Philippine Red Cross team carry goods that were transported through a boat after a bridge collapsed from a massive quake that hit Bohol. ALANAH TORRALBA/ IFRC The United Nations on Friday appealed for $46.8 million (P2.01 billion) in international aid for more than 380,000 people in Bohol province now living in tents after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Central Visayas last week. Australia was the first to respond, announcing on Friday that it would provide up to P124 million in aid to support the Philippine government’s response to the humanitarian emergency caused by the earthquake in Bohol and Cebu province. The earthquake flattened homes, schools, clinics, centuries-old churches and other vital infrastructure, killing more than 200 persons. A further 35,000 families need emergency shelter while more than 380,000 residents of Bohol require assistance for basic needs like water, sanitation, food and health services for six months, UN resident humanitarian coordinator Luizha Carvalho said. “At this moment, the Philippines is the one [country] that really stands alone with the highest of needs and the highest requirements,” Carvalho told a news conference. Carvalho said she hoped donors would still give money despite a series of recent natural and man-made disasters that also required international assistance, such as a destructive typhoon in December last year and Moro rebel attacks that destroyed parts of the southern city of Zamboanga last month. “We have a very interesting pattern of several events that are happening almost simultaneously and we still hope Read More …

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