Rebuilding lives

When thousands of Yolanda survivors marched to Mendiola last week, I felt their frustration and desperation. It has been 100 days since that fateful day and up until now there are still thousands without homes and no means of livelihood. What is happening to the rehabilitation program of the government? What happened to the rehabilitation czar Ping Lacson? He seems to have gotten lost in the rubbles as well.

Other than the probe he is conducting on the alleged 35 percent kickbacks from Yolanda bunkhouse contracts and his announcement that the rehabilitation plans will be implemented by March nothing much has changed. The latest report, however, says that the Yolanda regional master rehabilitation and recovery plan is scheduled to be completed this month. Mind you, this is only the ‘plan’. Yes, it has taken them that long to plan. I hope they accepted the services of several international teams whose expertise is on rehabilitation. Good luck!

Robert Castañares, regional coordinator for storm rehabilitation and recovery in Eastern Visayas said that the regional plan will list social, economic, infrastructure and environment projects with schedules and indicative budget as well as functions of national government, local government and concerned stakeholders in attaining the plan. He added that the goal of Lacson and the team is to have substantial 80%-85% compliance by June 30, 2016. To date there are still dead bodies being recovered from the coastal communities of Tacloban.

I just hope that in finalizing this plan, they will consider Architect “Jun” Palafox Jr.’s suggestion to relocate the city to higher ground to spare it from storm surges whipped up by monster storms. Remember that Tacloban sits at the head of a bay. This is why it absorbed the full force of typhoon Yolanda. Palafox further said that if he were to spearhead the rehabilitation of Tacloban, he would transform the city into the world’s center for climate change. Maybe Lacson can think about this.

More than building houses for these people, the government should take a closer look in giving livelihood opportunities to the local folk. They should give them ways and means to return to farming, fishing or other possible industry suitable for the locality. The local folk should be supported to become independent so that ultimately they can contribute to the development and progress of their province.

Oxfam, an international humanitarian group is right in saying that the government should provide adequate assistance to Yolanda-affected agricultural workers to ensure that they do not totally lose their means of livelihood. Recovery efforts should also prioritize the poor coconut farmers and fishermen. According to Oxfam, 60 percent of small-scale coconut farmers who lived in poverty before the typhoon hit the country are now surviving on food aid or cash support. Justin Morgan, Oxfam’s country director noted that coconut farmers and traders are integral to one of the Philippines’ most profitable industries, and yet it seems that they are being left out in the recovery efforts.

Before Yolanda ravaged the country, coconut and farm workers were earning $1 a day. The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) figures show that around 33 million coconut trees in 295,191 hectares of land have been damaged in Eastern Visayas.  I hope they start some tree replanting efforts and not waste time.

By the way aside from the damage done by Yolanda, more than 54,000 coconut trees in Region IV-A ( Calabarzon) have been infested by a new strain of coconut scale insect, according to a recent technical report by the PCA. This infestation first seen in Barangay Balele in Tanauan, Batangas was reported to the PCA in March 2010. Obviously nothing was done about it. I feel vindicated now because I did write about this issue last year which did not sit well with the PCA administrator.

Well, anyway, the harm has been done, and the poor 328,516 coconut farmers in the region now has to face the threat of losing their only means of livelihood to the scale insect outbreak. And this interim solution of government which is spraying the trees with an organic pesticide (a mixture of cochin oil and dishwashing liquid) is not helping either. What is worse is that even with the spray the infestation has spread to other farm produce.

*      *      *

Traffic in the metro has gone from worse to worst. Peak hours have changed as people opt to travel earlier than the usual time to avoid traffic congestion. Long queues in all MRT stations begin long before daybreak. What an ordeal we all have to face in our daily grind!

It is very clear that traffic can also slow down our economy. People will surely decide to limit their travels and stay home. Brian Galagnera, president of the Red Advocates, a group of concerned citizens advocating “Respect Equals Discipline” or RED on Philippine roads said that traffic problem has a greater negative economic impact than corruption.

He added that two separate studies quantified the financial impact of traffic in Metro Manila: A 1999 study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and a 2011 study by the University of the Philippines National Center for Transportation Studies (UP NCTS). Findings showed that traffic in Metro Manila causes the country to lose a whopping P140 billion annually.

According to the study, direct losses are attributed to wasted gasoline, lost labor hours, employment of traffic aides, and wasted electricity; the indirect losses refer to withdrawal of potential foreign investments, missed business opportunities, and reduced capital inflow.

Traffic is something that affects both the rich and the poor. I just hope and pray that we will see the end of this Skyway-3 project that is meant to provide a long-term relief by cutting travel time for commuters. I can play the devil’s advocate and say that I won’t be surprised if one day, we see a hanging bridge, not passable, unfinished because chaos (particularly corruption) has set in among the parties involved. Susmariosep!

Meantime, I urge local governments to meet and come up with a common traffic scheme to avoid further traffic congestion. Consultation and coordination are two important factors to ensure that all systems will go as planned.

*      *      *

Tomorrow we mark the 28th anniversary of EDSA People Power Revolution. Looking back, it seems that we have forgotten how and why EDSA came to be. It was this spirit of EDSA that showed that we Filipinos want to be free, live in peace, and justice – and give our families a decent way of life, quality education for our children, secured homes, safe workplaces and clean streets.

Have our leaders fulfilled the promise of EDSA? Have we become a better nation, a better people with the Filipino spirit of patriotism, valor and unity? I think it is time for us to reflect, be educated again and rekindle the EDSA spirit.

God give us men! A time like this demand, with strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands… — Josiah Gilbert Holland