TACLOBAN CITY- Secretary Mar Roxas of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be on hand on April 10 & 11 to personally turn over P 800 million worth of checks to local governments in Leyte severely affected by Typhoon Yolanda.
It was learned from DILG – 8 Regional Director Pedro A. Noval Jr. that the checks represent part of the national government’s Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) to local governments in Leyte which were hard-hit by the typhoon.
Separate turnovers will be scheduled for other LGUs in the region.
From the airport, Sec. Roxas will go to Palo, Leyte at 9AM on April 10 (Thursday) where local chief executives (LCEs) of nearby LGUs will receive their checks in a short program. The group will then proceed to Baybay City for a similar activity at 1PM. Sec. Roxas will likewise preside over the turnover of checks in Ormoc City at 9AM on April 11 (Friday).
According to Dir. Noval, LGUs in Eastern Visayas submitted project proposals worth P938 million in all for the repair of their provincial capitols/municipal or city halls, public markets, and civic centers. These proposals were keenly evaluated and then approved by DILG.
The repair projects coursed through DILG will be implemented by LGUs, after submission of the required Programs of Work and signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with DILG, with the corresponding sanggunian resolution authorizing the LCE to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the agency.
Additional amount will be released to the DPWH which will implement proposed projects for reconstruction of key LGU buildings.
Supertyphoon Yolanda in addition to claiming lives and properties, also devastated public buildings and facilities in Eastern Visayas. The release of checks is a fulfillment of the promise of national government to help hard-hit towns regain their capacity to deliver basic services and respond to the needs of their community. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY-For so long as the people are not consulted and are left in the dark, the government will continue to face problems on its rehabilitation program in areas hit by supertyphoon Yolanda.
Thus said Efleda Bautista, convenor of the People Surge, a coalition of different groups whose 12,000 strong members were victims of Yolanda.
Bautista said that the government “should really consult these victims, have a real assessment of the individual cases.”
“Like assess them where do they come from; maybe some of them are from other towns and they want to return there. If they are from Tacloban, assess what would be their livelihood, where they really want to stay, are they satisfied with their current place of residence. What is really the plan of the government on this?”she said.
“Bottom line, include the people on their plan,” Bautista stressed.
Ignoring the victims in drawing the rehabilitation plan could be tantamount that they “do not exist,” she said.
“They have a different picture of the new Tacloban or Eastern Visayas drawn from the comfort of their air-conditioned offices and with the advice of moneyed local and international capitalists devoid of the interests of the ordinary man, or the masses which compose the majority of the Filipino people,” Bautista added.
Bautista said that the President “junked” their petition stating their demands instead of at least studying it.
Bautista maintained that as the country observed the fifth month anniversary of the disaster which claimed over 2,000 lives in Tacloban alone, rehabilitation remains slow.
“The victims are still staying in bunk houses and in the tent city in San Jose,” she said.
According to Bautista, victims in the bunk houses also faced several problems on restriction in their areas.
“They are not allowed to hang their washed clothes, they are not allowed to cooked near their place because they have centralized cooking area where they have to line up to cook, they are not allow to sell or open a store, otherwise why will be not be included on the list for those who will be relocated plus they will not be recipient anymore of the government’s conditional cash transfer program,” Bautista said.
She also expressed her sadness that Rehabilitation Secretary Panfilo Lacson branded the victims as “communist pawns.”
“If you are a victim neglected by your government, are you going to be happy on this?” the 66-year old retired educator asked.
Bautista also denied that their continuing protests are aimed to destabilize the government. (RONALD O.REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY-The regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is now readying of filing a case against a food eatery owner found to have been selling rice intended for typhoon victims.
Nestor Ramos, regional DSWD director, said that their lawyers are now studying on what possible case they would file against the owner of the establishment.
Ramos, however, declined to identify the food eatery and its owner except to say that he has a personal account on this incident.
“We confiscated 17 bags of 25 kilos of rice, with a seal DSWD not for sale. We would be studying what case to file against the owner of the food eatery. Our purpose is to know who sold him the rice and why it is that he is selling it also,” Ramos told Leyte Samar Daily Express in a phone interview.
According to Ramos, the incident took place last April 3 evening while he was eating inside the establishment in Brgy. 23, this city.
“I personally went there, they don’t know me as I was eating there and I caught them by chance. The owner alleged to have bought that rice at P600 per bag. I called the police to assist us during the situation,” Ramos said, adding that the owner was not cooperating when he asked him questions like who sold him the rice intended for victims of Yolanda.
Ramos said that he took the rice to serve as evidence as for the possible case they would file against the owner.
The DSWD regional director said that they would dig deeper on this issue when asked if there could be a possibility that some of his staff might be involved on this matter.
Meanwhile, Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez said that he “understand” why some people are doing this.
“That is something bound to happen. Number 1, pagod na rin ang tao; isang buwan na panay sardinas pa rin kinakain nila. So some of them choose to barter that or sell that and then buy something like fresh meat or fresh fish, in order to have something better or different to eat,” Romualdez said.
“But the reason why that happened nakikita ko diyan dahil kapag iyong mga pagkain na binibigay na bigas ay walang measure eh. Ibig sabihin ay whether your family is having one, or five children or nine children, it doesn’t matter, they also give you one sack of rice every month,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez, however, stressed that the DSWD should continue in giving food reliefs to the victims of Yolanda. (RONALD O.REYES)

Alliance of typhoon Yolanda survivors has asked the help of the Archbishop of Manila Cardinal Luis Antonio for their struggle as they demand justice and attention from the government on their plight.
“We feel that the Aquino government has let the people down, there are many who continue to suffer five months after the calamity, and the government’s reconstruction program is inherently anti-poor,” said Sr. Edita Eslopor, People Surge spokesperson, as the victims dramatized their struggles by holding protest march and “people’s Calvary” nationwide on April 8, to commemorate the fifth month of the disaster.
Hundreds of protesters carried small crucifixes during the procession to remind Pres. Benigno Aquino III his “criminal negligence” to the the victims.
“So this Holy Week we are seeking the blessings of the Catholic Church for the Yolanda survivors who suffer like Christ, as well as its moral suasion to remind the Aquino government of its obligations to the poor and downtrodden,” added the Benedictine nun.
According to Eslopor, the activity is out of respect for the Holy Week tradition and symbolic of the plight of the Yolanda survivors.
“We hope to enlighten the Catholic Church and the public about the continuing struggle of the Yolanda survivors. By doing so, we hope also the Aquino government will wake up to its immorality and unjustness towards the Yolanda survivors,” added Eslopor in a statement to Leyte Samar Daily Express.
The victims maintained that rehabilitation in affected areas remain slow five months after super typhoon Yolanda hit central Philippines last year killing over 8,000 and displacing over four million people.

By Ronald O. Reyes