Tacloban lawmaker urges Aquino to empower Yolanda-hit LGUs TACLOBAN CITY -- Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez urged President Benigno Aquino III to empower the local government units (LGU) for more active role in the long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in areas hit by Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) last year. Romualdez said that LGUs in the Yolanda-stricken areas should be consulted in the rehabilitation efforts since local officials know better what is good for their people than any other government agency. LGUs are not given enough roles in the rebuilding efforts. I hope the government will recognize the devolution policy or LGUs empowerment in the decision-making because local officials know better what is good and best for them, Romualdez said. The lawmaker said that it was only last October 29 or almost a year later when President Aquino finally approved the 8,000-page P167.9-billion Yolanda Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan that Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (PARR) Secretary Panfilo Lacson. The fund recommended by Lacson aims to provide the build back better for the resettlement, infrastructure, livelihood, and social services in 171 cities and municipalities ravaged by the worlds strongest recorded weather disturbance which affected more than 1.5 million families. Romualdez said that LGUs are not also given adequate financial assistance from the government, prompting Yolanda survivors and various groups to stage protest actions here during the commemoration of first anniversary of the Yolanda tragedy last November 8. The assistance being provided by the government is not enough to support the needs of the survivors, a disappointed Romualdez said. He warned that more Yolanda survivors would continue to hold protest actions to demand the immediate and adequate assistance from the government. The lawmaker also supported the calls from various groups who were seeking transparency and accountability on the millions of dollars in foreign donations intended for the typhoon victims. Romualdez noted hundreds of thousands of victims whose houses were destroyed or damaged were living in shanties, patched up houses, tents and evacuation centers. Like here in Tacloban, the plan is to build 14,000 temporary shelters for the survivors who were displaced after the storm but 200 pa lang ang napapagawa ng DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) a year after, half of those galing pa o may assistance from other foundations, the lawmaker said. In Manila, Lacson blamed Romualdezs brother, Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez, for the apparently slow rehabilitation efforts in the city. Lacson told reporters that the mayors performance has been sub-par. He also belied claims that Tacloban has not received a single centavo from the national government, saying around P6.1 billion worth of programs and projects went to the city. The amount includes P230.7 million from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and P35 million for cash-for-work and other livelihood projects, according to Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman who was also present at the press conference. It is only now that we reached our threshold. Weve been holding on to our punches all this time. Somehow, you will reach your elastic limit, Lacson said. He assured that Tacloban is not being left out. We will continue to reach out. We are dealing with a calamity here. The people are suffering. We have a policy of inclusion, but I also have a message that I have stated before: You are either in or in the way, he said. PARR does not hold funds, nor does it directly implement programs, projects or activities in any stage of the rehabilitation process, which may go beyond the end of Aquinos term in 2016. Meanwhile, Mayor Alfred Romualdez is urging the national government to speed up the rehabilitation and renovation of the Speaker Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport (DZRA) in Tacloban City. Romualdez said that local businesses in the Yolanda-hit city are hurting after Malacanang decided to temporarily shut down the airport last September, which made the delivery of goods to city costly. Currently, only turbo-propeller planes are being allowed to land at DZRA. Ganoon pa rin, still struggling lalo na ngayong may problema tayo sa airport, we are hoping that our airport will bring back to 100 percent (operational) so that we can start moving on, Romualdez told reporters. He noted that the local airline industry is losing millions of pesos from the temporary closure of the Tacloban airport. Its really sad that thats happening now because even one airline alone like Zest Air, they dont have small planes. They are losing about 24,000 passengers a month. And for other airlines the jets (Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific) used to fly in, they are losing close to a hundred thousand passengers a month, Romualdez said. Romualdez said that the airport shut down was poorly planned and should have been studied further before it was implemented. The temporary closure of DZRA was based on the recommendation made by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) after it found out that the asphalt overlay of the runway has already been washed out. The repair of the airports runway is in preparation for the Pastoral Visit of Pope Francis in January 2015. (Sunnex) By John Carlo Cahinhinan and Virgil B. Lopez Sun Star/Monday, November 10, 2014
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 05:36:09 +0000
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