2 senators seek probe of substandard shelters

Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. INQUIRER and AFP FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines—Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. now want the Senate to look into reports of substandard and overpriced bunkhouses in the typhoon-ravaged Visayas.

Santiago and Marcos filed separate resolutions seeking an inquiry into the reports that more than 200 bunkhouses being developed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Leyte and Samar provinces as temporary shelters for victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” did not comply with international standards.

“This controversy multiplies the suffering of our countrymen in the typhoon-affected areas as they faced devastation from a natural disaster and the evils of corruption,” she said in Senate Resolution No. 436.

She said the national government owed local and international relief donors transparency and accountability in the pricing and design of the bunkhouses.

Santiago said the natural disasters last year and the revelations of the alleged P10-billion pork barrel, or Priority Development Assistance Fund, scam were “undeniable wake-up calls for the nation to step up government efficiency, transparency and accountability,” she said in a statement.

In his resolution, Marcos directed the public works committee, which he chairs, to inquire into charges of substandard and overpriced bunkhouses.

Marcos specifically cited architect Felino Palafox Jr.’s observations that the temporary shelters were undersized and substandard, hence, unfit for human habitation.

He also cited reports of possible collusion between a local politician and contractors to earn commissions from the construction of the shelters.

“It is crucial to look into these issues to make sure that the victims of Yolanda will no longer be victimized further by corruption and abuses perpetrated by callous culprits,” Marcos said.

Palafox, who accompanied rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson in an inspection of Tacloban City on Dec. 13 last year, observed that the bunkhouses were cramped, had thin plywood walls and two-slope roofs that could be easily torn off by strong storms.

“Would you want your family to live here?” he said, referring to Inquirer’s front-page photo of a row of bunkhouses made up of thin plywood and galvanized iron sheets. “It’s a fire hazard. There’s no privacy. The materials are so flimsy.”

An international shelter group reported that the bunkhouses being developed by the DPWH did not comply with internationally recognized standards and best practices. Camp Coordination and Camp Management has pointed at the cramped spaces, lack of ventilation, risk of fires and the safety and security of the occupants.

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson has denied suggestions of overpricing, stressing that the bunkhouses had not been turned over and private contractors would not be paid if the DPWH specifications were not followed. He said his department was addressing international concerns about the shelters.

Singson acknowledged the possibility “that some of the contractors may have not followed the specifications and therefore we refer to them as ‘underspecs.’” He promised to resign if the bunkhouses would be found to have been “overpriced.”

Lacson, for his part, has begun investigating the possible collusion between contractors and a local politician to profit from the construction of bunkhouses.

Lacson said he has tapped the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to look into reports that the contractors and the politician were pocketing 30 to 35 percent in commissions.

Cramped shelters in Iloilo

In Iloilo City, Jerry Bionat, provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer, on Thursday told the Inquirer that bunkhouses being built at Barangay (village) Gogo in Estancia town were too small and unsuitable for long-term occupancy.

“They are habitable for two or a few days, but not for weeks and months,” Bionat said. He said international aid workers had voiced concern over the poor ventilation. “They are concerned that the evacuees will be more vulnerable to diseases.”

President Aquino on Thursday presided over a Cabinet meeting “to ensure that the post-‘Yolanda’ rehabilitation program is on track and to speed up its implementation.”

The President instructed the Department of Budget and Management to “provide additional funds to complete the cadaver identification and burial process at the soonest possible time,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma later told reporters.

Based on a National Bureau of Investigation report, Coloma said 2,249 bodies had been recovered in Tacloban City alone.

Of the number, he said 448 had been processed and buried in permanent burial sites, one of the memorial parks, while 1,801 were interred in temporary burial sites—at Barangay Vasper and at Sitio (subvillage) Suhi, Barangay San Isidro, Tacloban City—and would be exhumed for further identification.

No-build zone

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje told the Cabinet that his department had completed the mapping of Yolanda-affected areas where the government would implement a 40-meter no-build zone.

The President ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government “to coordinate with the Department of Tourism in addressing specific concerns pertaining to the rebuilding of tourism facilities along the coastlines, such as the Jetty port in Palompon, Leyte, which generates significant tourism revenues,” said Coloma.

Eliminate contractors

Also on Thursday, Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza said that to avoid corruption in the recovery initiatives, the government should eliminate private contractors and allow the survivors to rebuild their home by providing them materials.

Atienza cited his experience as Manila mayor when he gave each of the 5,000 fire victims in the Baseco compound subsidy to rebuild their homes. He said in a telephone interview that giving the construction materials directly to the affected residents would remove the opportunity to pocket public funds.

“Let them build their own homes under the direction and guidance of the government,” he added.

The Communist Party of the Philippines issued a statement on Thursday, saying the Aquino administration’s “substandard, inhuman and overpriced bunkhouses are a grave insult” to the typhoon victims.

“The Aquino regime is taking full advantage of the massive destruction caused by the recent supertyphoon and other storms to attract and justify the allocation of large amounts of funds and funnel these into the profit-hungry big private big business companies, especially those close to the ruling clique,” it said.—With reports from Christian V. Esguerra, Leila B. Salaverria, Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas, and Delfin Mallari, Inquirer Southern Luzon

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