Eastern Samar ‘Yolanda’ survivors still in danger zones, group says

TACLOBAN CITY, Nov. 4 (PNA)-- As the third anniversary of super typhoon Yolanda is set to be commemorated next week, survivors in Eastern Samar have expressed their disappointment, saying that there was still no solution in sight for many of them in “danger zones.”

“The slow and uncertain solution to shelter reconstruction of survivors who are in danger zone is a clear manifestation of a government’s disaster response that is unorganized and in disarray,” said Lita Bagunas of Uswag Este-Katarungan, a provincial federation of farmers, fisherfolks, women and informal settlers associations in Eastern Samar.

Bagunas said that this situation is “unnecessarily making life more difficult and burdensome for survivors.”

She cited the condition of the residents from the towns of Lawaan, Balangiga, Giporlos, Gen. MacArthur, Hernani, Llorente, and Maydolong tagged as living in the “High-Risk Zones” who, according to her, “have held dialogues with their respective municipalities in the hope of establishing the status of their relocation.”

“We are forced to go to the LGU to fast-track land acquisition of suitable land. If we are fortunate that the LGU acquires a lot, we engage with the National Housing Authority (NHA) for the construction of houses, then various other government agencies for social services. It is so difficult to move 

government agencies because each one is acting like an independent republic,” she said in a statement.

Bagunas said that the delay “could have been solved if only the local government units would exercise their power of eminent domain. “

She, however, said that she is not blaming the local government units, and that what they are asking is that they were assisted by national government in terms of land acquisition, noting that they belong to a 4th and 5th class municipalities.

“According to NHA data, as of September 5, 2016, about 7,573 families are in the ‘High-Risk Zones’ that are due for relocation for Eastern Samar alone. However, three years running, residents in the area are still left to reside in transitional shelters and even bunk houses,” Bagunas said.

In a statement, the NHA said that there are two factors commonly cited as the cause for the delay in the construction of permanent shelters - the lack of titled lands available, and high cost of land found suitable for housing.

“The lands that should be acquired for housing should be titled in compliance with the Commission on Audit requirement,” the NHA said.

For Bagunas, this poses a problem as an estimated 60 percent of the lands in Eastern Samar are documented only by tax declaration.

She noted that the exorbitant price for private lands is said to have caused the delay. (PNA)
FPV/SQM/Ronald O. Reyes/egr