Still no final Yolanda death toll

MANILA, Philippines -  The official count stopped at around 4,000 and a regional police commander lost his post for projecting a death toll of 10,000.

Three days before the first anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda, Malacañang said yesterday that the government still could not come up with a final list of fatalities in the storm that ravaged Eastern Visayas.

“As you know, there is still an ongoing process of identification of the remains of the victims, which is being led by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI),” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.

He said they have to consult the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) on the final death toll.

The NDRRMC under its former head, retired general Eduardo del Rosario, reportedly stopped counting at 6,300 casualties.

“We will need to check with the NDRRMC, noting that the NBI is still conducting DNA and other related tests. So this is an ongoing process because we would like to be able to honor the memory of all those who perished in the calamity,” Coloma said.

President Aquino had relieved Chief Supt. Elmer Soria, police director of Eastern Visayas, for telling the media that Yolanda’s death toll could reach over 10,000.

“Ten thousand, I think, is too much,” Aquino told CNN in an interview. There was emotional drama involved with that particular estimate, pointing out that he believes the figure would be closer to 2,500 – but which turned

The Philippine National Police leadership said Soria underwent severe stress due to Yolanda.

Meantime, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa convened last Monday a meeting of the Cabinet clusters directly involved in the implementation of the Yolanda Comprehensive Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan (CRRP).

Coloma said Yolanda rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson reported the establishment of a one-stop shop for resettlement to facilitate the building of permanent housing units according to the master plan that Aquino signed last Oct. 28, nearly a year after the disaster.

The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council shall serve as the lead agency, as laid out in Administrative Order 44 or the Yolanda master plan that will provide relocation sites and housing units for typhoon victims.

A joint memorandum circular is also being arranged for the concerned Cabinet secretaries where there shall be a “delineation of safe, unsafe and controlled zones” in the areas hardest hit by the typhoon.

The agencies concerned are the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Science and Technology (DOST), National Defense (DND), Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The delivery of construction materials was discussed and is being facilitated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in coordination with the DPWH under Secretary Rogelio Singson.

Coloma said Lacson will deliver the “Yolanda Report: A Story on Hope and Change” on Friday, which will coincide with the launching of a music video “We Will Rise Again” in cooperation with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP).

Livelihood assistance

Some P36.6 million worth of livelihood assistance was granted to victims of Yolanda a year after the storm devastated the Visayas.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said she handed out 98 checks worth P36,605,536.08 to beneficiaries from the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Aklan, Capiz and Guimaras.

Baldoz said P17.4 million went to the payment of salaries of over 3,000 Iloilo residents who will work on the repair of school buildings, bridges and other infrastructure damaged by the typhoon.

Beneficiaries from Aklan received checks worth P4,997,139 so they could resume fishing and aquaculture, oyster production, fish cage, and crab fattening.

Baldoz said P3,635,550 in livelihood assistance was released to 17 beneficiaries from the province of Capiz, while checks worth P8,218,9896.88 were given to beneficiaries from Negros Occidental.

Beneficiaries from Guimaras received checks amounting to P2,256,172 for their livelihood projects like native bag production and marketing, banana production and processing and seaweed farming and processing.

Baldoz said more people could still avail of the government programs since Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional office in Western Visayas still has remaining livelihood funds for the year.

She urged the beneficiaries to maximize the opportunity that the DOLE assistance gave them and make their business viable and sustainable enterprises.

SM Cares

SM Cares, the corporate social responsibility arm of the SM Prime, will turn over to Yolanda victims on Nov. 9 the first batch of disaster-resilient houses.

SM cares in a statement said the firm is building 1,000 houses for the homeless in typhoon-devastated areas in Visayas.

The beneficiaries would get their disaster-resilient houses for free at the first SM Cares Housing Village in Bogo, Leyte, one of the badly hit areas.

It has been made possible through the help of people who donated around P200 million to build the houses, which could withstand calamities.

Designed to be above the requirements of the existing building code and mandated standards, each house includes pre-cast walls and roofs, which could withstand the strength of winds accompanying a Category 5 super typhoon without any major material damages.

In addition to its disaster resiliency features, the houses have heat resistant painted roofing to help lower interior temperature and increase energy efficiency. The windows and doors are made of aluminum frame and PVC to provide a high level of resistance to corrosion, rot, chipping, fading, insect assault, discoloration and severe conditions.

The village will have utilities, basic amenities like streetlights, community center and basketball court. Community and livelihood development programs will also be conducted in each village to make the project more sustainable for the residents. – Mayen Jaymalin, Perseus Echeminada, Lalaine Jimenea