ILOILO CITY-- The Iloilo provincial government has already “done so much” to help restore the livelihood of the typhoon survivors and the rehabilitation of damaged facilities four years after super typhoon "Yolanda" hit the country.
This was stressed by provincial administrator Raul Banias on Wednesday even as he said that the province is still doing relentless efforts to fully restore and rehabilitate facilities damaged by the typhoon.
Iloilo province, as one of the areas badly hit by typhoon "Yolanda" on November 8, 2013, joined the country’s commemoration of the 4th Yolanda anniversary.
According to Banias, the National Housing Authority (NHA) is still working on completing the resettlement areas for "Yolanda" survivors in the province.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic and Resources (BFAR) in Western Visayas and the provincial government on November 10 will distribute 180 units of boat materials among the fisherfolks in the towns of Carles and Estancia who were affected by super typhoon.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also continues to distribute the PHP5,000- Presidential Assistance Fund (PAF) committed by President Rodrigo Duterte during the "Yolanda" commemoration in 2016.
Banias recalled that the province has been recipient of programs and projects of the line agencies of the government, local and international organizations and private individuals for "Yolanda" survivors and for the rehabilitation of the damages in the province.
He mentioned that thousands of school buildings were already rehabilitated and restored by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) together with the Department of Education (DepEd). He added that there are even newly-constructed typhoon-resilient school buildings.
Some local and international organizations have distributed farm tools like tractors and threshers to the farmers to restore their livelihood.
Other organizations also constructed numbers of houses for the "Yolanda" survivors in Northern Iloilo. The British Red Cross in particular has spent around PHP500 million to help build the homes of Yolanda survivors in the towns of Ajuy, Batad, San Dionisio and Balasan.
Banias said that they had prioritized all the “most needy, vulnerable and under privileged” areas in the province in the distribution of the assistance.
While the restoration and rehabilitation continues, Banias said that the Ilonggos have become “more resilient and more prepared.”
He added that the disaster preparedness and the resiliency program were also mainstreamed among the communities in the province. (PNA)
