ILO offers employment assistance

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — "Emergency employment opportunities" will be provided by the International Labor Organization (ILO) for victims of typhoon Yolanda.

ILO-Manila program officer Diane Respall yesterday said ILO has deployed Rapid Assessment teams to typhoon-devastated areas to assess the impact on "livelihood, income, and employment" of the people there.

"Based on the result of our consolidated assessment, we would like to be able to provide timely response (to LGUs)," said Respall, who has been in this city with her team since Sunday.

"The ILO is helping put in place emergency employment and 'cash-for-work' program as part of  US$301 million relief appeal launched by the United Nations today," ILO said in its Nov. 12 press statement.

"The loss of life and the scale of the destruction are heart-breaking, and there are millions of  people in desperate conditions," said ILO director-general Guy Ryder.

"They need food, water, shelter, medical care and they need to start rebuilding their lives right away. We're working with government and social partners in the Philippines, and with our UN sister agencies, to help the communities affected by the tragedy and we call on the international community, and the public, to be generous in their support," Ryder added.

Respall said her team arrived in Bacolod Sunday, and is doing a one-week assessment on the typhoon's damage to Negros Occidental, particularly the 10 LGUs in the northern part which was hit by Yolanda last Nov. 8.

The 3-man ILO team in Negros Occidental is composed of Respall, Shukuko Koyama, socio-economic reintegration specialist based in Bangkok, and Engr. John Pastor.

They are meeting with the officials of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, workers organization, management of the sugar companies and local government officials.

The team is set to visit the 10 LGUs in Northern Negros Occidental: the cities of Silay, Victorias, Cadiz, Escalante, Sagay and San Carlos, and the towns of E. B. Magalona, Manapla, Toboso, and Calatrava.

Cadiz, Sagay and Manapla were badly battered by the typhoon. More than P107 million in damages was incurred in agricultural crops and fisheries, excluding infrastructure, records of the Offices of the Agriculturist and Veterinarian showed.

The islands of Lakawon in Cadiz City, Molocaboc and Suyac and neighboring islets in Sagay City, had almost 75 percent of their houses flattened by the typhoon.

The provincial government has placed the entire Negros Occidental under a state of calamity. (FREEMAN)