Duterte admin checking alleged irregularities in Yolanda shelter aid

MANILA,Philippines -- The Duterte administration is investigating alleged irregularities in the distribution of shelters to victims of Typhoon Yolanda, which left more than 6,000 people dead in 2013.

Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said about 200,000 typhoon survivors from Western and Eastern Visayas have claimed they are still waiting for the shelters promised to them by the Aquino administration.

“Many farmers, fisherfolk talked to us and asked us about their emergency shelter assistance, three years after Yolanda. So, we decided to have an internal assessment of the donations given to the [Department of Social Welfare and Development] as well as other funding,” Taguiwalo said in a press briefing in Malacañang on Monday.

“The exclusion of emergency shelter assistance for victims of Yolanda is widespread. We are talking 200,000,” she added.

Taguiwalo said that, in general, the money for typhoon victims went to the intended recipients “but there are cases of irregularities, non-compliance, or non-implementation.”

“But this is a minority. Even then, you know, even if involves only one municipality, for example, that is unacceptable because this is money given to our people,” the Social Welfare chief said.

“The spirit there is we don’t want any form of irregularity, of any corruption. The president is very clear about it. Our marching orders from Day One is prompt and compassionate assistance, fair treatment to communities,” she added.

Taguiwalo said there were also reports of some typhoon victims not being given equal treatment by local governments.

“There were people who were victims of Yolanda but who were not part of the political groupings of particular local government officials so they were excluded. We have that a lot,” she said.

The Social Welfare department has submitted a report about the supposed irregularities to President Duterte.

“We have asked him to initiate the investigation. So we will come (up) with that by next month, before the third year of ‘Yolanda,’” she said.

“Our main problem with ‘Yolanda’ is while we have provided more than one million emergency shelter assistance to the victims, there are around 200,000 claimants who expressed the complaint that they were victims of Yolanda in Region 8 and Region 6 but they were not given the assistance needed.”

Budget department data showed that, as of October 2015, the national government has released P93.8 billion to areas hit by "Yolanda."

Social Welfare data showed that, as of November 2015, a total of P18.39 billion has been released to provide emergency shelter assistance in four regions.

Taguiwalo assured the typhoon victims that all funds would go to their intended recipients.

“Those are the kinds of things we are looking at and the idea is not really fault-finding. The idea is how do we safeguard the money? What kind of resolutions? What kind of policies? What kind of guidelines are necessary?” she said.

“So far, one new guidelines we have made is the emergency shelter assistance should be given immediately but we need to protect it, you know. We need to ensure that those who are included are the ones qualified. Otherwise, we’ll have problems of exclusion.”