Remember the Super Typhoon Odette? She struck the Philippines nearly two years ago on December 21st, 2021 causing a massive amount of damage. But because the government is so inept and corrupt the nation is still recovering. On October 16th 12,500 resident of Mandaue received cash aid to assist in recovering from Odette.
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| https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/534028/12500-odette-victims-in-mandaue-to-receive-cash-aid-from-nha |
A total of 12,500 Mandauehanons are set to receive Super Typhoon Odette financial assistance, according to an official of the National Housing Authority in Central Visayas (NHA-7).
Mandaue City residents, who were severely affected by Odette, but were not listed in the first tranche of the cash aid, need not worry because they will still be included in the succeeding tranches, NHA-7 Regional Manager Engr. Rizalindo Cabahug said.
Cabahug said that another round of distribution for the succeeding batches will be scheduled after the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on October 30.
NHA is giving out cash assistance amounting to P10,000 to families affected by the calamity that hit on December 16, 2021.
On Monday, Oct. 16, NHA started the distribution of the first tranche of the cash aid. This will continue until Thursday, Oct. 19.
A total of 4,000 beneficiaries will receive aid from NHA during the first tranche.
Fe Bancale of Barangay Bakilid was one of the recipients of the NHA cash assistance on Monday.
Bancale said she will use the money to buy new GI sheets to replace their roof that was blown away by the super typhoon.
Since the typhoon, her family had been using used GI sheets, that would leak every time it would rain, for their temporary roof.
"I'll replace [it with a new one] because it still has a hole. [The release of the assistance] took a little time, but it's okay as long as it's acceptable," said Bancale.
According to Cabahug their list of beneficiaries was based on the report that they received from the barangays and the city government.
Prioritization was given to families whose homes were either totally or badly damaged by Odette.
Cabahug said the same cash assistance will also be given after the BSKE to residents of the other localities in Cebu and the rest of the region who were also badly affected by Odette. These will include those who are in the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Cebu and the southern parts of Cebu Province, among others.
The NHA-7 official admitted that they experienced delays in the processing of the cash aid also because of the volume of requests that their office received.
"Actually quite a bit, the NHA itself can't handle it. This [distribution] is like this, that's why we increased personnel coming from the city government, social welfare. If we do this, [then] 4,000 books, I don't think we will really get this much," said Cabahug.
One lady has been so destitute that she has been living with a leaky roof for nearly two years! You'd think she and others would have been able to quickly get some help but the NHA says they couldn't handle the backlog. But two years? To add insult to injury the second tranche of recipients have to wait until after the October 30th elections to receive their share because no political projects including aid to people is allowed during the campaign period.
The Dingat Islands are another area still recovering two years after Odette. Dinagat Islands Rep. Alan Uno Ecleo indicates recovery is all he has been working on from the end of his first term until now. The recovery has been so slow that he had to personally ask the President to avail of funds for families whose houses were destroyed by the storm.
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| https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/10/04/regions/lawmaker-eyes-district-recovery-from-odette/1913112 |
Recovery from one of the worst storms to hit the country in recent years remains the key priority for Dinagat Islands Rep. Alan Uno Ecleo.
In his "State of the District Address" on Monday, which also happened to be the 17th founding anniversary of the island province, Ecleo said that two years since Typhoon Odette struck, resident continue to live under its shadow.
"All our efforts in the tail end of our first term, even in the middle of the National Elections, and through the beginning of our second term have been focused on one thing: paano tayo makakabangon? (how can we recover?)," Ecleo said.
He said that his district has reported several milestones in terms of recovering and rebuilding from the storm that hit the province in December 2021.
These include the Department of Social Welfare and Development 's provision of P119.7 million worth of emergency shelter assistance (ESA) to nearly 12,700 families whose homes were destroyed by the storm.
He also personally sought the help of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for additional aid of P13.6 million for 1,453 families whose homes were partially destroyed, and P34.4 million for 13,808 families.
"But we are not done. We are still hard at work in reaching 1,075 more families with the remaining 2.7 million pesos worth of ESA by the end of the year," Ecleo said.
He also said that he has secured P267 million in funding for the repair and improvement of school buildings that were destroyed by Odette, with the remaining P933 million still being secured.
Ecleo also showcased the bills that he filed that would establish Dinagat Islands' first state college, Level 2 general hospital, municipal and regional trial court branches, and the island's first airport, which the President vocally supported during his trip to the province.
He welcomed the Chief Executive's desire to continue helping the island province and create plans for its tourism industry, which includes connectivity to the province, calling it "good news".
"We share the President's vision for a more connected Dinagat Islands, that is why among our many other initiatives, we are also pushing the province to be a part of the planned Eastern Nautical Highway," Ecleo added.
He said that there is still much to be done to uplift the lives of people in the aftermath of Odette and of poverty, and has called on for the development of a "pro-poor, disaster-resilient agriculture and fisheries sector" in the province in order to promote food security, livelihood and sustainability.
"And a large part of this is creating livelihood and jobs for all Dinagatnons, through projects like the Multi-Species Hatchery which we enacted into establishment and is now in the process of being constructed." he said.
And there is still much to be done!
So, not only is the Philippines not prepared to endure a typhoon or any severe weather by lessening the amount of casualties and property destruction but they are not even prepared to recover. But if the nation cannot fully recover from one typhoon to the next then it's simply a perpetual cycle of destruction, partial recovery, and destruction. We have seen this kind of inept bungling for years especially with Yolanda. What's it going to take to break the cycle? It looks like nothing.
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