The World Bank on Friday announced the release of a $500-million loan to help the government’s recovery and reconstruction efforts in Northern Mindanao after it was devastated by Tropical Storm “Sendong.”
The $500 million liquidity facility for the Philippines is the first of its kind in the East Asia and Pacific region.
It is to be complemented by a technical assistance program from the bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery to support the implementation of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, and the country’s Strategic National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction.
An estimated 720,900 individuals are now struggling to cope in the aftermath of Sendong (international name Washi) that left more than 1,260 dead, hundreds of thousands homeless and P1.3 billion worth of damage to infrastructure and agriculture.
“In natural disasters, it is the poor, including many women and children, who are particularly vulnerable,” said Chiyo Kanda, the acting country director for the World Bank.
“We hope the funds will give the Philippine government flexibility to help families and communities recover, reconstruct vital infrastructure, and restore basic social services, as well as enhance the country’s preparedness for natural disasters in the future,” Kanda said.
Following a visit to the devastated areas on Dec. 20, President Aquino declared a state of national calamity. It was immediately followed by a Philippine request for access to the World Bank’s Disaster Risk Management Development Policy Loan with Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat-DDO), a facility that allows borrowers an immediate source of funding to respond rapidly in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
The Cat-DDO is part of a broad spectrum of the World Bank catastrophe financing instruments to assist borrowers in planning efficient responses to catastrophic events. It gives a government immediate access to funds after a major natural disaster, when available funds are often not adequate to meet the needs for reconstruction and recovery.
Quick response
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima praised the WB for its quick response, and the flexibility of the facility.
“The Cat-DDO is a quick and flexible source of financing for a country like the Philippines which is vulnerable to natural calamities,” he said.
Malacañang said it will use the loan to restore livelihoods and rehabilitate the economic assets that were destroyed.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the use of the $500-million loan carries “tighter-than-normal” requirements on the reporting of funds releases.
“It is a highly concessional loan, a little over one percent interest annually, payable in 25 years with a 10-year grace period,” Abad said.
According to Abad, the damaged economic assets whose rehabilitation and reconstruction are to be prioritized include post-harvest facilities, irrigation systems, fishing ports and boats.
Sendong brought heavy rains, overflowing rivers, and flash floods to Northern Mindanao and Central Visayas from Dec. 16 to Dec. 18, sweeping away whole villages built on sandbars and riverbanks.
The Mindanao port cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan bore the brunt of the disaster and suffered most of the fatalities.
More than 376,000 people were displaced by the storm and almost 55,000 are still huddled in crowded makeshift evacuation centers, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Gary Valenciano’s appeal
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) on Friday appealed for $4.8 million to help the over 350,000 children affected by Sendong in Central Visayas and Northern Mindanao.
“We are calling on all our Unicef supporters not to forget the children affected by Sendong. Any amount you give will go a long way to ensure that these children get back on their feet. Please go to unicef.ph to learn how you can help,” said Unicef National Ambassador Gary Valenciano, who recently visited Iligan City.
More than 700,000 persons have been affected by the disaster, half of them children, Unicef said.
“Children are now facing great risks to their health, nutrition and education. The disaster has also created the probability for long-term negative impact on children who have experienced profound stress,” it added.
To be able to respond to the effects of Sendong, Unicef is asking for $5.8 million out of the $28.6 million requested by the United Nations.
“Only $1 million of the funding needed to carry out these programs has been raised,” the Unicef said, adding that a further $4.8 million is needed.
OIC humanitarian team
The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has vowed to provide assistance to the people of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities, regardless of religious affiliation, to help them recover from the devastating effects of Sendong, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) said.
NCMF secretary Bai Omera Dianalan-Lucman said the OIC has already sent a four-person humanitarian mission team to Mindanao to assess the situation. The team is considering short- and long-term assistance for the victims, she said.
Foreign donations and pledges as well as aid from Filipino communities all over the world for victims of Tropical Storm Sendong continue to pour in.
Aid still pouring in
The government of New Zealand has contributed $500,000 to the relief efforts of the Philippine Red Cross to provide food, blankets, water and sanitation, shelter and livelihood assistance to 25,000 people in the worst affected areas in the Visayas and Mindanao, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy in Wellington joined this massive humanitarian mission by donating $1,000.
The Filipino community in Hawaii raised $44,000 in cash and pledges in a one-day drive. About 100 volunteers gathered at the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu the day after Christmas to man phone lines as they appealed to compatriots and friends from across the state to contribute and donate.
As of Dec. 28, the Philippine government had already received over $12.6 million worth of foreign donations and pledges for Sendong victims, according to the DFA.
The amount does not include donations/pledges without equivalent monetary value.
Filipino communities around the world have also sent donations, as have private individuals and businesses.
On Dec. 22, the United Nations launched a consolidated flash appeal for humanitarian assistance with the humanitarian community and the Philippine government for Sendong victims amounting to $28.6 million. With reports from Tina Santos and AFP