Lack of land hampers recovery of Sendong victims

Sunday, January 15, 2012

THOUSANDS of families affected by the wrath of Tropical Storm Sendong (international name: Washi) last month have yet to be relocated due to lack of available land.

Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Saturday said the five-hectare lot donated by Jesuit-run Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro can only accommodate 500 families, instead of the initial target of 1,000.

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"Land is the biggest issue in the rehabilitation. We can build 2,000 shelters, repair kits, tents and even livelihood but the issue is the non-availability of the land for the survivors who are still in evacuation centers and high-risk areas from flooding," PRC secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang told Sun.Star.

Earlier, the National Housing Authority (NHA) identified permanent relocation sites for the priority beneficiaries displaced by Sendong.

These are situated in Sitio Calaanan in Canitoan village, and Lumbia, Gusa and Indahag villages in Cagayan de Oro. Based on a timetable prepared by the housing agencies, the affected families can begin moving into the estimated 6,000 houses by April.

Some of the proposed resettlement areas in Iligan are the Sta. Elena Village 1, Sta. Elena Village 2, Kapuso Village in Barangay Mandulog and LUINAB Homes which can accommodate up to 3,560 housing units.

Combined, around 10,000 houses are expected to be constructed soon or just a third of the estimated 30,000 homes damaged by Sendong in flood-hit cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan last December.

Specifically, the NHA said the storm swept away 11,100 houses in Iligan and 18,436 in Cagayan de Oro. For his part, Vice President Jejomar Binay said informal settler families who used to live within 20 meters of the danger areas can avail themselves of the Resettlement Program with houses to be provided by the NHA and local government.

Families whose houses were located beyond 20 meters of the danger areas can secure housing material assistance and site upgrading and development through the NHA, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the local government.

Binay, the government's housing czar, added that for families with titled properties, housing loan, housing material assistance and site upgrading and development will be provided by the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), NHA, DENR, and the local government.

On the other hand, some 1,698 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were mobilized for the cash for work (CFW) program, maintaining the cleanliness of evacuation centers.

Gender-based violence sub-clusters have also been organized by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to address the protection issues of women and young girls, pregnant, lactating women, and female-headed families.

Based on DSWD records, there are 239 pregnant women, 472 lactating mothers, 191 single-headed families, in evacuation centers in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.

To date, some 41 evacuation centers remain open, of which 16 are in Iligan while 25 are in Cagayan de Oro serving 1,900 families and 3,535 families respectively. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)