SURVIVORS of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Tacloban City are appealing to President Benigno Aquino III to postpone the P7.9-billion government infrastructure project and instead prioritize the resettlement project intended for them.
In a press conference facilitated by Oxfam on Tuesday, September 22, the Tacloban Yolanda Survivors and United Northern Internally Displaced Persons Resettlement Association shared an open letter seeking for the President's intervention on the slow pace of the resettlement project and to set aside for the meantime the Tide Embankment project that can potentially displace families in Tacloban City.
"Kami ay hindi tutol sa layunin ng proyekto at sumusuporta sa hangarin iligtas ang pamayanan sa banta ng storm surge. Sa kabila ng magandang layunin nito, kami ay lubhang nangangamba para sa higit 10,000 pamilyang nanganganib mawalan ng tirahan at agarang mapaalis sa kanilang mga bahay dulot ng nalalapit na implementasyon ng proyekto. Hindi pa tapos ang mga permanenteng pabahay ng pamahalaan at maging and mga bunkhouses at TRS kung saan planong pansamantalang paglalagakan sa amin ay unti-unti ng nasisira at patapos na ang kontrata sa lupa ng ilan. Dagdag pa ang pahirap ng ilang beses ng paglilipat, kawalan ng katiyakan sa hanapbuhay at batayang serbisyo," the letter stressed.
The letter was signed by Yolanda survivors and internally displaced persons in Tacloban who remain in temporary shelters that are vulnerable to typhoons.
"We are not against the National Government's plan to build a dike as protection against storm surges, but thousands of families currently living in the project site are at risk of losing their homes again because until now, the permanent housing units are not completed yet and issues regarding living standards such as shallow septic tanks, a nearby open dumpsite and poor drainage system remain," the group said.
"We should have been consulted first when this project was still on the planning stage so that the affected families, as well as the small fisherfolks, can at least be fully aware and will abate of another displacement. Almost two years after Yolanda struck, poor families are still struggling to survive. For us fisherfolks, this tide embankment project can threaten our source of livelihood," said Losanto Castillo, Jr., leader of Tacloban fisherfolks association.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is implementing the Storm Surge Protection, Road Heightening and Tide Embankment project that covers about 27 kilometers stretch of shoreline from Tacloban City to Tanauan town.
There are about 10,000 families displaced by the typhoon and are still waiting for their relocation to permanent areas.
To date, only 534 houses have been built out of the targeted 13,801 houses, according to data from the National Housing Authority. (Rowel C. Montes)