Dinagat Islands Rep. Alan 1 Ecleo
MANILA – One year after the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Odette in Dinagat Islands, Rep. Alan 1 Ecleo is urging national government agencies to fast-rack programs needed to fully rehabilitate the province from the serious damages it suffered from the powerful typhoon.
“While both the local and the national government has done so much in the past year, we still have a long way ahead before fully recovering from the second costliest typhoon in the history of the Philippines,” Ecleo said.
“Looking at the Dinagat Islands Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) and Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (RRP), it is clear that national government agencies need to step up in delivering required projects, programs, and activities for us to fully bounce back,” the solon said.
Dinagat Islands was one of the most affected areas by Odette, recording 22 deaths and 803 injured, and suffering billions of pesos worth of damage to agriculture, fisheries and government infrastructure and roads. At least 37,033 families have been affected, with 16,336 homes totally destroyed.
“One year later, our school buildings have yet to be fully repaired, with the PDNA and RRP estimating a required amount of at least PHP306 million to reconstruct and repair destroyed classrooms; and around PHP130.25 million to replenish lost and damaged equipment,” Ecleo said.
“At least PHP114 million is also needed to revitalize our local agriculture, plus an additional PHP160.5 million for fisheries,” he added.
Meanwhile, PHP2.5 billion is needed to repair, rehabilitate and construct critical public works and infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and seawalls,
“These are only a few of the project areas which require immediate attention and funding from the national government,” Ecleo noted.
The second term lawmaker said that while the Duterte administration had boosted support to Dinagat Islands, and even continued under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., he continues to mobilize support and coordinate efforts to provide the necessary funds for the full rehabilitation of Dinagat Islands.
“In our second term’s first six months, we have not relented in coordinating efforts from national agencies and their regional and local counterparts to fast-track the release of financial aid to Odette survivors,” Ecleo said.
He said this could be through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Emergency Support Assistance (ESA) or the Department of Labor and Employments (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) and Government Internship Program, among others.
Ecleo, who is now the chair of the House Disaster Resilience Committee has also spearheaded the introduction of specific disaster-related reforms, such as the House Resolution mandating the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to come up with a Master Plan that will keep school buildings in coastal areas disaster-resilient.
“We also just recently deliberated on and passed in the committee-level a bill establishing National Food Banks in order to quickly respond to food shortages and hunger, especially after natural disasters,” he said.
“We are not only shaped by the disasters we survived, but also by our efforts in improving and progressing as we rehabilitate. We hope that the rest of the country, especially the national government and our fellow legislators in Congress, do not simply forget and lose the sense of urgency that we still have, a year after Odette,” Ecleo said. (PNA)
