Relief efforts: From ER to ICU to recovery room

MANILA, Philippines—Like a hospital patient “moving from the emergency room to the intensive care unit and eventually, to the recovery room.”

This was how President Aquino’s spokesman described the progress of relief efforts in Tacloban City and other areas ravaged by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) when it struck the Visayas on Nov. 8.

“The situation is getting better and so the President felt very confident that Tacloban is in good hands, like the [other] disaster areas where he visited,” Edwin Lacierda told reporters in a briefing in Malacañang.

But the President himself disclosed that the typhoon survivors had risen to a staggering number of 4.5 million, or roughly 900,000 households, and needed to receive relief aid continuously from the government. He called on international donors and relief agencies to prolong their stay in the hardest-hit areas.

After inspecting Leyte and Samar provinces for the past three days, Aquino flew back to Manila on Tuesday, the same day the Supreme Court struck down the congressional pork barrel. But Malacañang clarified that his return had nothing to do with the landmark decision.

In an interview in Ormoc City on Tuesday, Aquino said he would meet with his Cabinet in Manila, particularly on how to address the budget component of the relief and rehabilitation efforts. He is expected to meet with the National Economic and Development Authority board on Thursday.

‘In good hands’

Lacierda said the President decided to go home considering that “normalcy has begun to set in an encouraging pace,” particularly in Tacloban, where the government has recorded the biggest number of casualties. Nearly 700 people died and 2,400 were hurt in the capital.

“The situation is getting better and so the President felt very confident that Tacloban is in good hands, and also the [other] disaster areas where he visited,” Lacierda said.

“Things have been moving,” he said, noting that relief items had already reached 40 other towns in Leyte province after the roads were cleared of debris.

The President had described in earlier interviews this week feeding the victims as “challenging.” For the Eastern Visayas alone, some 275,000 families have been affected, he had said.

“But in other areas, many have lost their houses although there is a low casualty count,” he said in a brief interview before returning to Manila. “They lost their houses and have nowhere to stay, and face the problem of lack of food. Imagine, close to 900,000 families nationwide that the (government) should take care of?”

“Again, close to 900,000 families (or) around four and a half million of our countrymen should be taken care of every day, and there are unique challenges with that,” Aquino said.

Recovery, rehab

Beyond ensuring that sufficient relief reach survivors, the President is setting his sights on the recovery and rehabilitation of towns and cities hit hard by Yolanda.

The Aquino administration has been widely criticized for its slow response to the disaster. People in many areas still complain of not receiving enough relief despite the outpouring of aid from international donors and agencies.

“We’re talking of rehab (rehabilitation) and that includes the issue of certified seeds, so planting can begin,” Aquino said. He also talked about finding suitable areas for temporarily relocating the survivors before proceeding to provide mass housing for them.

“The reopening of [public] markets shows the good side [of the typhoon victims]. Also, they are really fighting, not allowing themselves to be defeated by the calamity. So my morale is building up, too,” the President said.

He mentioned devastated areas in Iloilo and the Samar-Leyte corridor—“Basey, Samar, on one side, Tacloban on the other; then, Tanauan, Tolosa [and] Palo,” all in Leyte.

Gov’t priorities

“Of course, we want to know why did the [death toll] reach that high? Is there anything we can do? Can we redesign communities, so they would be more resistant to such things?” he asked, noting that losing someone entailed “a heavy burden.”

The President wanted the Department of Science and Technology to lead in the “atmospheric side, the weathering side” as part of efforts to better prepare communities for the onslaught of more frequent and stronger typhoons.

“That’s the first priority,” he said. He quickly added that relief, medical attention for everybody and the restoration of power were other government concerns.

“But more than anything, their sources of livelihood should be reestablished,” Aquino said.

To help the survivors get back on their feet, he said the national government would provide certified seeds to rice and coconut farmers, repair irrigation facilities and provide subsidies to fishermen.

“They’ve already hurdled their initial fears [of not being able to recover] … and if the people are themselves convinced that we could [overcome] this, the whole process would move faster,” he said.

Aquino had already asked his chief legal counsel to study whether he could tap the Malampaya Fund for power restoration in the Visayas, which is expected to be fully energized by Dec. 24.

No power in Samar

On Samar Island, the electricity supply has yet to be restored in the three provinces since Yolanda struck 12 days ago, forcing residents to adopt various ways of coping.

The scarcity of basic commodities has taken its toll on residents of Calbayog City. They have to line up at gasoline stations for fuel: the rich need it for their cars and generator sets that provide electricity to their homes, while the poor use it to light up their homes with kerosene-fed lamps.

Those in the northern areas have not experienced the scale of devastation in Tacloban and the southern towns, but they continue to reel from the economic impact of Yolanda.

Owners of businesses in Calbayog complain about the added expenses in operations from using generator sets.

“I have to spend P800 daily for the rental of the gen set, and another P1,000 for the gasoline. I do not know how long I can sustain this,” said Irish Go, 23, who owns a cosmetics store.

The situation also means less income for tricycle driver Edwin Casica, 42, who has to spend at least two hours every day staying in line for his daily supply of gasoline.

Emmanuel Lao, 34, who owns the Shell station in the city’s Aguitgitan district, said he had to limit the volume of fuel products to sell amid reports that some buyers who get their supply in bulk had been reselling these at three or four times higher than the original price.—With a report from Melvin Gascon, Inquirer Northern Luzon

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