VICTIMS / THE AFTERMATH - By ARCHBISHOP LEDESMA
[PHOTO - The
devastation left by Typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City has
challenged Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to pursue the dredging of water bodies
in the city. "We have to face the problem of constricted, silted and the loss of
water bodies so that we will be spared (from a similar tragedy)," he said. Posted on Jan 22nd, 2012 with tags Asia, Cebu,
City, dredging, Mayor, News, Philippines, pushes.
]
MANILA, JANUARY 26, 2012
(SUN-STAR ONLINE) SOME P262 million will be needed for the
recovery of communities ravaged by tropical storm Sendong last December, the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said
Wednesday.
This developed as the groups announced their plan to more than double the
support they will provide to residents displaced by the massive flooding brought
by Sendong in the port cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.
They are now asking for 5.69 million Swiss francs ($6.1 million or P262
million), a big jump from the initial call for 2.63 million Swiss francs ($2.8
million or P120 million) that was made in the days following the onslaught of
Sendong that claimed over 1,200 lives.
These increased financial needs reflect the perilous situation still faced by
those who were severely affected, according to Richard Gordon, the chairman of
the Philippine Red Cross.
"More than a month on from Sendong and at least 223,000 are still living in
emergency shelters, with host families, or in makeshift conditions. It may take
a long time for these people to get back into permanent homes, and they will
need our support in the interim," he said.
[PHOTO - A staff sanitizes containers outside a water bottling plant in
Barangay Cugman, Cagayan de Oro City on December 20, 2011. The water bottling
company reduced prices to serve residents affected by a flashflood brought by
typhoon Sendong that hit Cagayan de Oro City. MindaNews
photo by Toto Lozano]
Besides appealing to private donors, the Red Cross recently became a
beneficiary of nearly P2 million from proceeds of the exhibition match between
the men's national football team Azkals and the Spanish club CF Internacional de
Madrid.
At present, the Red Cross has pledged to support 4,000 families with either
safe transitional shelter or with repair kits to help them to rebuild homes.
The transitional homes are intended for families whose houses were destroyed,
and the repair kits are for other families to rebuild homes that were damaged.
The revised operation will also see the Red Cross provide 2,000 families with
cash or other livelihoods support as well as reaching 15,000 families or roughly
75,000 people with food, water storage containers and hygiene kits.
Those families receiving water containers will also be provided with
information on health and hygiene, helping them to take the necessary steps to
avoid exposure to illness and disease.
A recent outbreak of the deadly bacteria leptospirosis has claimed 16 lives
and affected 377 others.
For its part, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) called on
the government to ensure the transition of displaced individuals to a safer area
and provide full financial support for the reconstruction of their houses.
Around 10,000 houses are expected to be constructed soon by the National
Housing Authority (NHA) or just a third of the estimated 30,000 homes damaged by
Sendong in flood-hit cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.
"Considering that leading government agencies involved in land use planning
did not even bother to reconfigure the urbanization of Iligan and Cagayan De Oro
before Sendong, the government is partly to blame for the destruction in
Mindanao," the group said.
Earlier, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III sought an inquiry that will
investigate the factors that led to the tragedy in Mindanao and Visayas. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)
Sendong aftermath: Building Communities of Hope in Cagayan de
Oro By Contributor | Monday| January 23, 2012 | Filed under: Top
Stories
Antonio J. Ledesma, S.J. Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro
[PHOTO - VIEW TO A KILL. A couple going back to the evacuation center
in Tibasak, Cagayan de Oro City after doing the laundry on December 22, 2011,
scans the destruction wrought by the flood that hit the area and other
communities along the banks of Carmen River early morning of December 17, 2011.
Hundreds of lives were also lost in the flood induced by Typhoon Sendong. MindaNews photo by H. Marcos C. Mordeno]
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/22 January) — One month after the passage of
Typhoon Sendong on Dec. 16-17, the city of Cagayan de Oro is slowly getting back
on its feet. Nearly a third of the city's population was severely affected by
the flood waters. More than 10,000 families sought refuge in evacuation centers
in public schools, barangay covered courts, and churches. Others stayed with
relatives or friends. Out of the archdiocese's 21 city parishes, 17 riverside
parishes were extensively inundated. Hardest hit were the parishes in
Macasandig, Balulang, Carmen, Cathedral, Consolacion, Puntod, RER, Kauswagan,
Bulua and Canitoan.
The government has declared a no-return policy for six sitios that are
actually part of the river's delta. These are Cala-Cala, Isla de Oro, Isla
Delta, Isla Copa, Isla Bugnaw, and Isla Baksan. More than four thousand houses
on these sites were washed away by the rampaging waters of Cagayan de Oro River.
The government has also restricted construction of houses within a 15-meter
distance from the river. Although the flood waters reached further inland to
submerge even concrete houses in subdivisions, the hardest hit were the
makeshift wooden structures built by informal settlers at the river's edge. For
lack of living space elsewhere, "squatting" on what was actually still part of
the riverbed was tolerated by city officials and ended in tragedy for many
families in the wake of Typhoon Sendong.
[PHOTO - Soldiers stand in front of a bag full of donated coins and
bills forthe victims of Typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan
City.The money, which amounted to P20,000, collected by the Youth for Peacein
Compostela Valley Province, came from drivers and other citizens inthe province.
Twenty-two military trucks from the Eastern MindanaoCommand and three dumptrucks
from the City Government of Davaotransported relief goods and the donated cash
to the two affectedcities on Friday, December 23. MindaNews
Photo by Ruby Thursday]
It is in this light that the resolve by both government and multi-sectoral
groups to relocate families whose homes were totally washed away presents the
challenge of building new communities of hope. With the re-opening of classes on
January 3, many evacuee families have transferred to temporary shelter
arrangements like tents or bunkhouses provided mostly by international donor
agencies. More sites for permanent housing units still need to be identified and
acquired. These would supplement the city's nine hectares in Calaanan and Xavier
University's offer of five hectares in Lumbia, which can accommodate only about
1,500 families out of the estimated 5,000-6,000 needing relocation.
On its part, the archdiocese through its Social Action Ministry and the
affected parishes started to organize Tabang Cagayan from the first day of the
calamity. Its purpose was to assist and augment the efforts of the local
government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development. We are grateful
for the outpouring of donations in cash or in goods sent by many individuals,
dioceses and organizations from different parts of the country and the world for
the flood victims.
[PHOTO - 22BAUNGON1Volunteers from Brgy. Lingating and neighboring
villages take a 40-meter trip on a makeshift bamboo raft crossing the Tumaloang
River in Baungon town in Bukidnon Wednesday (Dec. 21, 2011) to bring relief
goods from the provincial government. Eleven bridges connecting the town to the
rest of Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro were destroyed by flashfloods brought by
tropical storm Sendong. MindaNews photo by Walter I.
Balane]
The archdiocese has also played the role of convenor together with the DSWD
Regional Office in bringing together government agencies, civil society
organizations, and international humanitarian groups in forming clusters on
food, health, sanitation, education, security, shelter, religious affairs, etc.
to address the pressing needs in the evacuation centers. All these assisting
organizations became members of a multi-sectoral Executive Committee. An
Operations Center was set up at the Xavier University gym to facilitate the
supervision of camp management and to act as a clearing house for the provision
of goods and services to the various camps and affected areas.
Early in the relief work, the need for accurate data was felt in identifying
and profiling the survivor families of Typhoon Sendong. With the help of many
youth volunteers and seminarians for interviewing and encoding, the
archdiocese's data management team has designed a computer program that
generates disaggregated information for the families affected by the floods.
This information has been made available to DSWD and other organizations to help
them in prioritizing families for permanent housing units.
[PHOTO - An old man ponders about his future amidst the ruins in
Barangay Hinaplanon 20 December 2011 days after Typhoon Sendong wrought havoc in
Iligan City. Hinaplanon was among the most badly hit barangays when the nearby
Mandulog River swelled. MindaNews photo by Bobby
Timonera]
Another urgent need that is still felt by Typhoon Sendong survivors is
post-trauma counseling. Coping with the loss of loved ones or an entire home
needs time and sensitivity to heal. Debriefing sessions have been conducted by
university teams and doctors to prepare local volunteers, including the
archdiocese's women religious from a dozen congregations. There has been one
suicide case on Jan. 5 in an evacuation center – an indication of the
desperation felt by many traumatized survivors.
One notable example of accompaniment in the evacuation centers and affected
areas has been the presence of the Daughters of Charity sisters. Four separate
batches of 15-17 sisters each have arrived to work quietly for a week at a time
among the different centers – to help distribute relief goods, systematize
records, make house-to-house interviews, help the sick receive medical
attention, etc. In one barangay, the profile of a DC sister walking with a
Muslim woman guide, both with head veils, to interview affected Muslim
households shows another dimension of solidarity in moments of adversity. The
Holy Spirit and RVM sisters have also sent teams to assist the displaced
families.
[PHOTO - Children from Barangay Santiago who lost their homes to
Typhoon Sendong play bahay-bahayan outside the gymnasium of MSU-Iligan Institute
of Technology 20 December 2011. The gym has been converted into an evacuation
center where thousands of flood victims sought refuge. MindaNews photo by Bobby Timonera]
The local church has not forgotten to remember the names of the dead and
missing in this tragedy – now exceeding a thousand. Memorial Masses were said in
the Cathedral on Dec. 30 and Jan. 7. A candlelight ceremony by the riverside
will be held on Jan. 25, the 40th day of Typhoon Sendong. Evacuation Centers and
temporary resettlement sites also have their religious services. We have made
available the open grounds of both theological and college seminaries and some
parish churches for temporary housing of more than two hundred families.
The ongoing challenges of social preparation for building new communities
continue – in the midst of remembering loved ones who have perished. It is with
this hope that in the foreseeable future we can repeat the Psalmist's plea,
"You have turned my mourning into dancing" (Ps. 30:11).
[Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, is the Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro
City]
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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