AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–The party-list group Bayan Muna on Thursday called for an inquiry to determine the toll of lives from Super Typhoon “Yolanda” amid claims that up to 18,000 people perished in the aftermath of the world’s strongest cyclone to ever hit land.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Thursday also urged Congress to decide whether those listed as missing should now be included in the official death toll to allow the victims’ relatives to receive death benefits.
Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate filed a resolution seeking the investigation, in aid of legislation, on the losses inflicted by Yolanda, which ripped through 171 towns across 14 provinces.
“Almost one year after the Yolanda disaster, the death toll remains unclear,” the resolution said, noting that the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) had stopped releasing figures after confirming 6,293 deaths in April even though bodies were still being uncovered in remote areas in the disaster zone.
Another 1,785 persons were reported as missing.
The council’s count slowed considerably after Chief Supt. Elmer Soria, the Eastern Visayas director of the Philippine National Police, reported two days after the typhoon that as many as 10,000 people had perished—
a figure disputed by Malacañang. He was later sacked.
Slow recovery
“There were claims that the fatalities could reach 18,000,” the Bayan Muna resolution said. It added that as of Nov. 2, there had been reports that bodies were still being recovered.
The Bayan Muna lawmakers also sought an inquiry into the purportedly “slow” progress of the rehabilitation efforts, and the disbursement of the P14.6-billion supplemental budget the government released in January.
Their resolution noted the complaints aired by various groups about the slow recovery efforts in Yolanda-hit areas, particularly Leyte and Samar provinces.
“Tens of thousands of survivors are still living in tents and bunkhouses, have no substantial economic activities and sustainable jobs, and feel neglected,” it said.
Citing figures from the research group Ibon in an October news release, the resolution said that out of the 1.5 million families affected, only 215,471 families had benefited from Cash for Building Livelihood Assets projects, only 5.8 kilometers of national roads had been repaired or rehabilitated out of a target 116 kilometers and only 213 classrooms had been repaired out of the target of 19,648.
“Less than 1 percent of Yolanda survivors were provided permanent homes, based on a news report in October citing the roundtable discussion organized by (the British charity) Oxfam this October,” the resolution said.
The measure also quoted National Housing Authority assistant general manager Froilan Kampitan as saying only 142 families—or 0.06 percent of the total—had so far been given permanent homes, out of some 250,000 families.
Colmenares and Zarate said Congress must investigate the actual death toll, the reports on “slow” recovery efforts, and the questions on the disbursement of the cash donations and supplemental budget “to provide relevant measures that would ensure adequate services and judicious use of funds for the survivors.”
“This is also important to make sure that the P167.9-billion Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan signed on Oct. 29 by President Aquino will translate to concrete benefits and truly aid in the recovery of Yolanda survivors,” they said.
CBCP appeal
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo Thursday called on Congress to conduct a study to decide once and for all on whether people “missing” due to Yolanda would have to be declared “officially dead.”
“We will appeal to Congress to reduce the number of years before a missing person can be declared officially dead. Otherwise, it will take four years or more, and relatives of the victims are still unable to get the benefits reserved for them,” Pabillo, chair of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs, said in a post on the CBCP website.
A formal declaration is a must so that families of typhoon victims can already avail of the benefits earmarked for them, Pabillo said.
The question becomes more relevant given that many individuals have yet to be found one year after the tragedy.
The Social Security System (SSS) earlier announced that relatives of “lost” Yolanda victims can receive benefits on condition that they submit documents signed by their barangays (villages) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The latest data issued by NDRRMC reveal that besides the 6,000 confirmed dead, 1,785 persons have so far been recorded missing in the aftermath of Yolanda.
Originally posted at 10:31 pm | Thursday, November 6, 2014