'They are just temporary shelters'
MANILA, Philippines - Saying the country has its own standards, Malacañang on Wednesday denied that the bunkhouses being built for the survivors of Super Typhoon "Yolanda" were subpar and not suitable shelters for the families to be accommodated.
At a televised press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said he was told by Public Works and Highways Sec. Rogelio Singson that the bunkhouses were not in violation of the Philippine building code.
"We are following our own standards. We don't necessarily have to follow international standards. But because our concern is safety, our concern is they should not be congested," Lacierda said.
The Palace official said international standards require a bunkhouse unit size to be 20 square meters. When asked by the media on what the government's standards are, Lacierda also said "safety."
"Our concern is for your safety and our concern is that you will not be placed in a cramped space," he said.
On Monday, Singson said the bunkhouses were originally designed to have 24 room units that will each accommodate one family.
But after international agencies commented that one room unit is too tight, Singson said the bunkhouses were reconfigured to have 12 room units.
He said one family can now occupy not just 8.64 square meters, but 17.28 square meters in the redesigned bunkhouses.
"[T]hat is already acceptable to international standards because, I understand, the international standard for temporary shelter is about three square meters per person," Singson said at a televised press briefing in Malacañang.
Asked by the media if there was a compromise of international standards because of the urgent need to build the bunkhouses, Lacierda said "These are just temporary shelters."
"Please note that these are temporary bunkhouses. We are moving towards [building] permanent shelters," he said.
Lacierda, also assured that the bunkhouses were designed to be humane, saying larger families will not be made to live in a small unit.
"If you're a family of more than five, you cannot be squeezed into one unit of that 12-family bunkhouse. You have to be given two," he said.
"They're people (typhoon survivors). We are taking care of them. Their concern is our concern," Lacierda added.