CAGAYAN de Oro City Councilor Romeo Calizo proposed that the government should set a period for when evacuees in calamities and disasters are allowed to stay in evacuation areas, such as covered courts.
Calizo said evacuees should only be staying in covered courts for about 15 to 30 days. After that, they “should get back on their feet.”
He said this means that government assistance should be quick and sustainable.
“Kung sa covered court, gamiton man gud na sa mga estudyante and sa evacuees at risk pud ilang security it can affect their livelihood and education,” he said
The call of statemanship, Calizo said, must have a policy or protocol as to how “we can raise the families.”
“If our policy is 15 to 30 days in a temporary evacuation center, there must also be a movement that everybody will be out, back on their feet. But the city could not, of course, provide everything but we can collaborate efforts of all other institutions,” Calizo explained.
In the case of the evacuees in Barangay Patag, Calizo suggests for them to look for private individuals who are willing to sponsor the needs of the evacuees, though “sponsors can only do so much.”
“Naa man rsponse pero kulang, murag limited lang to foods, clothing, immediate needs lang pero wala na address ang main problem which affects security nila kay open spaces raman sila. Kung sa ato pud housing, dili pud ing-ana kadali pag avail kay naay other uses already intended for that.”
Meanwhile, Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr. pointed out that the government should instead fast-track the distribution of financial assistance to the victims, saying this is one of the reasons why they opt to stay longer in evacuation centers to wait for the financial assistance.
The matter is referred to the committees of social services and barangay affairs to create a protocol or system in dealing with evacuees.