President Benigno S. Aquino III inspects the facilities of the temporary shelter at the Cogon Relocation Site in Barangay Cogon, Guiuan during the visit to the province of Eastern Samar on Friday (November 07). More than 200 Yolanda survivors will benefit from the 133 housing units. It was in Guiuan where super typhoon Yolanda, the strongest typhoon ever recorded, made its first landfall on November 08, 2013. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – More than two years after super typhoon Yolanda ripped through the Visayas region, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) on Thursday said the implementation of projects, programs, and activities (PPAs) envisioned to bring forth rehabilitation and recovery to the devastated areas is nearing completion.
In a press statement, NEDA said the overall weighted physical accomplishment (OWPA) of completed and ongoing Yolanda PPAs now stands at 63.2 percent – 30.3 percent completed and 33.1 percent ongoing.
NEDA said most of the ongoing projects are scheduled to be completed by 2016.
In October 2014, weeks before the first anniversary of Yolanda, President Benigno Aquino III signed the “Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan” or CRRP which identified a total of 18,400 projects, programs, and activities (PPAs) to be implemented in 171 cities and municipalities in 14 provinces in Visayas affected by super typhoon Yolanda.
The total funding requirement for the CRRP’s implementation is P167.86 billion ($4 billion), which the government said will be primarily sourced from the national budget.
In April this year, Aquino through Memorandum Order No. 79, transferred the task of leading the implementation of the PPAs from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery to NEDA.
The PPAs indentified in the rehabilitation and recovery masterplan were divided into four clusters namely, resettlement, infrastructure, livelihood and social services.
Most challenging aspect
For the resettlement cluster which has the biggest funding (P75.67 billion) under the CRRP, the NEDA reported that as of November 15, 2015, the government’s Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) has already benefitted 788,747 households or 76.3 percent of the targeted 1,033,827 families whose houses were damaged by the typhoon.
The ESA aimed to help the affected families rebuild sturdier houses, provided that the houses are not located in th danger zones.
Under the ESA, families with partially damaged houses will receive P10,000 worth of cash or construction materials while families with totally damaged houses will receive P30,000 worth of cash or construction materials.
“Distribution of ESA is still ongoing,” NEDA said.
Meanwhile, in the same statement, NEDA Director General Arsenio Balisacan admitted that the the resettlement of the survivors from the danger zones continues to be the most challenging aspect of the government’s recovery efforts.
The NEDA reported that to date, only a total of 13,335 permanent housing units have been completed. The NEDA, however, noted that construction of 79,219 houses is ongoing and scheduled for completion by December 2016.
Balisacan said among the issues slowing down the building of resettlement sites are 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,” Balisacan said.
Build back better
Meanwhile, on the PPAs under the infrastructure cluster, the NEDA reported that 94.6 percent or 35 out of the 37 damaged airports have already been rehabilitated.
Also rehabilitated, according to the NEDA report are 95.5 percent or 295 out of 309 municipal facilities such as civic centers, municipal halls and public markets.
The NEDA said “a significant majority” or 89.21 percent of the total target of 1,852.53 lineal meters of damaged bridges have been rehabilitated as well as 72.24 percent or 77.9 kilometers out of the 107.6 kilometers of damaged bridges.
“True to our aim to ‘Build Back Better,’ the reconstructed roads, bridges, ports, telecommunications facilities, as well as health and education facilities, are now subscribing to more stringent structural standards,” Balisacan said.
Livelihood and social services
In terms of livelihood PPAs, NEDA reported that a total of 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 NEDA statement read.
NEDA said 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,” it added.
NEDA said 80.22 percent of the targeted 364 entrepreneurship trainings have already been completed.
Meanwhile, in terms of the social services, NEDA said the distribution of 339,745 learning kits to Yolanda-affected schools has been completed.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had earlier stated that the distribution of medical kits and deployment of doctors and midwives has already been undertaked in the Yolanda-affected areas as well as the distribution of iron supplements to pregnant women and postpartum women.
“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,” Balisacan said.
“Many Yolanda survivors now have better prospects with the help of government’s various livelihood assistance programs,” he added.
Based on government records, Yolanda, which hit central and eastern Visayas on November 8, 2013, left 6,245 people dead, 28,626 injured and 1,039 missing. The typhoon also damaged P39 billion worth of property. (MNS)