REBUILD LIVES / AKLAN: STATE OF CALAMITY
[PHOTO - SHELTER FOR
HOMELESS Iligan City officials have given the go signal to cut the thousands of
logs that destroyed hundreds of houses at the height of the flash floods brought
by Tropical Storm "Sendong" and use the timber to build shelters for the
homeless survivors. Richel V. Umel/Inquirer
Mindanao.]
ILIGAN CITY, DECEMBER
29, 2011 (INQUIRER)
Logs, including those that pummeled many flood victims to death here at
the height of the flash floods spawned by Tropical Storm "Sendong," are being
tapped to provide shelter to survivors.
There's at least 5 kilometers of coastline here clogged with logs.
The effort was spearheaded by the city government and the nongovernment
organization Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits (Ecoweb).
Volunteers for the shelter program have started scouring the beaches of
Barangays (villages) Tibanga, Santiago, Hinaplanon and Acmac for logs that can
be made into lumber.
The lumber will be used to build some of the houses for thousands of families
left homeless by the flooding.
Regina Antequiza, Ecoweb executive director, said that as of Tuesday
afternoon, dozens of logs had been recovered and formed into lumber by
volunteers using chainsaws.
"What we intend to do is use the lumber for the reconstruction of houses
instead of ending up in the hands of unscrupulous illegal loggers," Antequiza
said.
Melvin Anggot, city information officer, said some people had tried to bribe
officials so they could get the logs that the floods had washed away on December
17.
"They are illegal loggers and we will pursue charges against them when the
situation normalizes," Anggot said.
With the supply of lumber from recovered logs assured, the city government is
hoping that the construction of houses in relocation sites can start
immediately, Mayor Lawrence Cruz said.
"We are moving fast and we want this problem solved soon. We have identified
and acquired relocation sites," he said.
Cruz said that based on government figures some 4,000 homeless families had
been included in the program's initial phase.
He said thousands claimed to have lost their homes in the floods. "Some of
them appeared to be just pretending. That's why we are validating their claims,"
he said.
Cruz said Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman had pledged shelters for
other victims who could not be accommodated in the local resettlement program.
In Cagayan de Oro City, displaced residents of the second congressional
district may have to spend two more months in tent cities before they can move
to their new homes, which are being jointly built by the government and good
Samaritans.
Houses finished in February
Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez said the construction of the
houses for Sendong victims could be finished in February. The houses are being
built on a 4-hectare lot in Barangay Gusa and on a 10-ha piece of property in
Barangay Indahag.
Relocation sites have also been identified in Barangays Lumbia and Calaanan
for those who used to live on the western bank of the Cagayan River, Rodriguez
said.
The Jesuit-owned Xavier University has granted the government usufruct rights
to its 5-ha property in Barangay Lumbia.
Usufruct is the legal right granted to a person or entity to use and derive
profit or benefit from property that either belongs to another person or which
is under common ownership, as long as the property is not damaged or destroyed.
Cagayan de Oro Councilor Nadya Emano said the city had also allocated 9 ha in
Barangay Calaanan for the relocation of Sendong victims.
Generosity
The property, she said, was part of the 64-ha area that the city government
bought in 1996 for its resettlement program.
Emano said a Chinese-Filipino businessman, who wished to remain anonymous,
offered to bankroll the building of an initial 300 houses in Calaanan for storm
victims.
The businessman has offered to build about a total of 1,000 houses on the
property, she said.
Aklan declared under state of calamity By Nestor
Burgos Jr. Inquirer Visayas 11:08 pm | Wednesday
ILOILO CITY, Philippines—The province of Aklan was declared under a state of
calamity Wednesday after floods destroyed at least 81 houses and damaged 363
others in two towns.
No casualties were reported.
In the coastal municipality of New Washington, 9 kilometers southeast of the
capital Kalibo, huge waves battered the seawall along the national highway,
destroying 75 houses and damaging 363 others in Barangays (villages) Poblacion
and Tambak, according to a report of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Office.
In Banga town 14 km from Kalibo, six houses were destroyed and 15 families,
or 74 persons, were evacuated from Barangay Taba-ao.
Galo Ibardoloza, PDRRMO executive officer, said the state of calamity was
declared to enable the release of 30 percent of the calamity funds for relief
assistance, especially to those left homeless.
Ibardoloza said the irrigation dike in Banga was being reinforced and
residents near the area were alerted after the water from the swollen Aklan
River showed signs of overflowing.
Aklan Governor Carlito Marquez had requested the provincial board to declare
the province a calamity area after the flooding in Banga damaged rice lands and
possibly rendered portions of the provincial road network impassable.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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