The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
After two years, the rehabilitation efforts of the government in areas devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda in the Visayas region registered an accomplishment of only 30.3 percent while 33.1 percent are still on-going and will be ready for completion by 2016.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M Balisacan, who is also National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) director- general, said “the government is making strides in rebuilding resilient communities in the Yolanda corridors in the Visayas regions, as well as in the Mimaropa region, particularly through sustainable infrastructure development and responsive social services. “True to our aim to “Build Back Better,” the reconstructed roads, bridges, ports, telecommunications facilities, as well as health and education facilities, are now subscribing to more stringent structural standards,” he said. Many Yolanda survivors now have better prospects with the help of government’s various livelihood assistance programs, he said.
Neda reported the following accomplishments:
• Distribution of 339,745 learning kits to Yolanda-affected schools has been completed;
• 35 out of 37 damaged airports or 94.6 percent have been rehabilitated;
• 295 out of 309 municipal facilities or 95.5 percent under the first batch – such as civic centers, municipal halls and public markets — have been rehabilitated;
• 89.21 percent of the total target of 1,852.53 lineal meters of damaged bridges have been rehabilitated, and
• 77.9 km out of 107.6 km or 72.4 percent of damaged national roads have been reconstructed.
As of November 15, 2015, submissions, the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) has benefited 788,747 households or 76.3 percent of the targeted 1,033,827 families whose houses were damaged by the typhoon.
The families with damaged houses received P10,000 worth of cash or materials; while families with totally damaged houses received P30,000 worth of cash or materials. The ESA was intended to help affected families rebuild sturdier houses provided they are away from the danger zones. Distribution of ESA is still ongoing.
A total of 48,995 Yolanda survivors, or 89.4 percent of the targeted 54,825 beneficiaries, have had their fishing boats repaired or replaced.
Meanwhile, thousands more received fishing gears and paraphernalia than originally targeted: 76,598 sets were distributed while the original target was 68,636; distribution.
The distribution of rice and corn seeds is also nearing completion, with 94,020 or 85.7 percent of 101,708 targeted bags distributed to beneficiaries.
In addition to restoring the livelihoods of farmers and fishers, the government has also undertaken to provide new livelihood opportunities to survivors; an example of this is the entrepreneurship training –80.22 percent of the targeted 364 trainings have already been completed.
Balisacan noted that resettlement of the survivors from the danger zones continues to be the most challenging among the recovery efforts.
To date, only a total of 13,335 housing units have been completed, with construction of 79,219 houses still ongoing and scheduled for completion by December 2016.
Among the causes cited that resulted in the slowing down in the construction of resettlement sites are policies on procurement and land acquisition and the many required permits and clearances needed to start certain projects.
However, NEDA is intensively coordinating efforts to address these policy and implementation issues with the concerned agencies.
In April this year, President Aquino I, through Memorandum Order 79, transferred the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of all disaster-related PPAs from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery to Neda .