Leyte residents refuse to occupy bunkhouses

PALO, Leyte – Danilo Fabella, 55, still considers himself lucky even if he lost his house during the onslaught of typhoon “Yolanda” last November.

No one among his immediate families died in the typhoon although his three-year old daughter, whom he described as “a survivor,” sustained minor injuries.

He and his wife Enrile also have a new source of income that allows them to meet their daily needs.

“We have a small store here. Nakakaraos naman. (We can get by somehow),” Danilo said, adding that his wife also accepts laundry jobs during the weekend. 

The Fabella couple and 10 of their 14 children moved five days ago to a temporary housing site in Barangay Tacuranga, about three kilometers from Barangay San Joaquin, where they used to live.

The housing site has 20 units of bunk houses and has toilet and kitchen facilities. Each unit has about 12 to 24 rooms each measuring at least 8.64 square meters.

The construction of temporary shelters is a project of the Department of Public Works and Highways and involved 10 contractors.

Big families like the Fabellas have to make do with the crowded rooms, which are also sweltering in heat at times because occupants are not allowed to bring in electric fans.

“Parang sardinas (It’s like canned mackerel),” Danilo said when asked about their experience when they are about to sleep at night.

The Fabellas’ room will soon be tighter after they bring in some of the furniture they managed to save during the height of the typhoon.

“But we can endure this because it’s just temporary. We will be moved to a permanent settlement at the Kapuso village also in Palo,” he added, referring to a housing project supported by television station GMA 7.

Not enough takers

Interestingly, more than half of the rooms of temporary shelters in Barangay Tacuranga remain unoccupied.

Based on estimates by the local police, only 52 families are living in the bunk houses. This means that about 400 rooms in the housing site remain vacant.

Enrile said some of their former neighbors had refused to move to the bunk houses because they do not want to abandon their livelihood sources.

“They do not want to move. They said they might encounter difficulties,” Enrile said.

“Maybe they do not want to adjust to a new environment,” she added.

This was confirmed by Ermalyn Petilla, village chief of Barangay Tacuranga.

“Maybe they are thinking of their livelihood. They think the relocation site is far from their livelihood source,” she said in Filipino.

Petilla said the “Yolanda” survivors would stay in the bunkhouses until the construction of their permanent resettlement in Barangay Barayong is completed.

The situation in Barangay Tacuranga in Palo was in contrast with that of Tacloban City, which is struggling to find temporary settlements for affected residents.

Officials of the Tacloban City government earlier said almost 30,000 persons are still in danger zones and are still residing in tents or temporary shelters.

About 3,000 families in the city are staying in makeshift homes, 770 others are living in tents along seashores and 500 more are still in evacuation centers and schools.

Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez said at least P1.22-billion is urgently needed to bankroll the housing requirements of affected residents.