Typhoon victims to get land

Duterte orders distribution of idle govt lands to displaced, poor people

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to distribute idle government lands to Filipinos who were displaced by typhoon “Odette.”

“My advice is, if you’ll rehabilitate a community, and you would want to look for the space, if it’s government land, give away all of it,” Duterte said during his pre-taped “Talk to the People” public briefing.

“Those idle government lands… better give it to the people right away,” he said.

He said he told DENR to distribute the unused government lands, saying “whether they were victims of the typhoon or not, let’s just give what we can give.”

He said most of those affected by the typhoon were “marginalized” and “very poor” and had no other place to go.

Disaster officials estimate that 508,785 houses were damaged by Odette, 167,417 of which were destroyed.

These were in Mimaropa and Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Also on Monday night, Duterte ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to talk to mayors regarding structures built in danger zones.

Duterte told DPWH Secretary Roger Mercado to talk to the mayors about structures in no-build zones.
He said he was reluctant to dismantle houses unless a relocation site was available because these residents had nowhere to go.

Duterte said families living along the coastlines or rivers often become the “ultimate sacrifices” when catastrophes strike.

“There are just too many people who are poor, the huge crowd of masses with nowhere to move to. If the mayor doesn’t get involved, you’ll really have a hard time,” Duterte said in Filipino.

Earlier, the President had ordered the immediate eviction of residents living on coastal easements within 40 meters of the shoreline to prevent loss of lives and damage to property during natural calamities such as Typhoon Odette.

“It will be a summary eviction,” the President said in a recent command conference with military and police officials in Cebu.

“Don’t wait for the court to issue an order. They [residents] will usually seek court intervention through a writ of injunction. Let us just tell the judge: ‘You know, Judge, this is what the government wants [to do] to protect its citizens,” Duterte said.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año reported to Duterte that some residents living along coastal easements have resisted efforts to have them relocated despite an existing law that there should be no housing structures within 40 meters of the shoreline.

“We will work with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and the National Housing Authority. We have to implement that law. That was our lesson learned from super typhoon Yolanda [in 2013],” Año said.

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development on Tuesday said it has already started rolling out assistance to thousands of families affected by typhoon “Odette.”

Housing chief Eduardo del Rosario went to areas hardest hit by the typhoon, including Surigao City, Siargao, Cebu and Dinagat Islands to inspect, assess and determine the extent of damage, particularly to housing.

In coordination with the United States Agency for International Development and the International Organization for Migration, DHSUD was able to distribute shelter-grade tarpaulin sheets to affected families.

A total of 5,598 shelter-grade tarpaulin sheets were handed over to typhoon-affected local government units in Cebu, Bohol, Southern Leyte and CARAGA region, he said.

DHSUD joined forces with the Philippine Coast Guard in the distribution of 14,000 more shelter-grade tarpaulin sheets, 250 modular tents for evacuation centers and 1,310 solar lamps in other typhoon-hit areas.

Del Rosario said they also handed out a total of P487.5 million worth of financial assistance to typhoon-affected regions 4B, 6, 7, 8, 10 and CARAGA, with recipient families set to receive PP5,000 each.

A total of 97,500 families would benefit from the cash assistance.

Del Rosario said they plan to complete their commitment of providing P100 million per typhoon-hit province with severe damage to housing and procurement of housing materials for targeted island LGUs with onsite delivery during the first quarter of 2022.

“We are hastening efforts to immediately assist families in typhoon-hit regions, especially those whose homes were damaged or destroyed by ‘Odette.’ We are also stepping up coordination with other government agencies to ensure faster delivery of relief and financial assistance to regions that were battered by the typhoon,” he said.

The humanitarian group Oxfam Pilipinas on Tuesday called on the government and the private sector to prioritize the distribution of shelter repair materials on top of food and water for typhoon-hit communities.

“Typhoon survivors already spent Christmas in evacuation centers; let’s not keep them there for New Year’s Day too as we are still battling the COVID-19 pandemic,” Oxfam Pilipinas Country Director Lot Felizco said.

Felizco said the distribution of construction materials, which were requested both by residents and local government officials, will allow typhoon survivors to repair and rebuild their homes. “This will in turn help decongest evacuation centers,” Felizco said.

While COVID-19 cases in the Philippines are much lower now compared to previous months, other countries are experiencing a surge in new cases due to the Omicron variant.

Reports from Oxfam staff on the ground showed that evacuation centers are currently cramped with some rooms being occupied by three to four families at a time.

“This raises major health risks as it is impossible for them to observe physical distancing,” Felizco said.
The Oxfam country director pointed out that they are also worried about the safety of women and children as there are no room partitions between families. In some evacuation centers, people are also forced to bathe in open areas due to the continuous low water supply.

“The lack of water and sanitation facilities make frequent hand washing and proper hygiene habits more challenging for typhoon survivors,” Felizco said.

In Surigao del Norte, it might take three to four months before electricity is fully restored. “Based on Oxfam’s experience supporting internally-displaced communities, the lack of electricity is also a safety concern and the use of gas lamps at night is a fire hazard.

In some areas affected by Typhoon Odette, residents are already staying in makeshift houses built from salvaged materials. “These are not sturdy or safe enough as rainfall is continuous in some parts of the country,” Felizco said.