Rehab or Perish
THESE DAYS, when you go around Iloilo City, most likely you would not miss the dumps along the road which just pile up day after day and the smell that lingers, becoming more putrid every time rains come. Of course, the garbage and lumps of earth by the road get collected regularly but people kept on bringing out the remaining trash and sludge from their houses that the job of hauling them to the dumping ground seems endless. It was almost a month after the floods, but the rotting odor has tarried – a pellucid reminder of the killer water.
The city has already done a lot of cleaning up – flushing the sludge, unclogging the drain, deodorizing the rot, sanitizing the rubbish. Immediately after the water has started to subside, the city has mobilized relief operations – setting up of 32 evacuation centers, gathering from the good Samaritans and distributing to the calamity victims food, water, clothes and medicine, and installing water treatment machines; debriefing the victims and the concerned government and private institutions; and assessing the havoc
The Damage. Typhoon Frank has left Iloilo City with 28 dead and 170 injured; 50,873 families affected – 1,860 houses totally damaged and about 4,363 partially destroyed. About P16M worth of roads were scraped including hydraulics for river control projects. Fifty government school buildings, 7 private schools and a university were devastated by the water.
Panay Electric Company declared losses of about 15M, the water district 4.3M, and drainage system 4M. Rice fields of about 714.75 hectares were under water for one day uprooting the vegetation, about 900 livestock of cattle and swine were drowned, 369.73 hectares of fishponds with milkfish overflowed.
Several hotels and a big convention center, gasoline stations, grocery stores have reported restoration cost of 52.8M. About 2,000 vehicles were literally stirred into the rampaging current.
Three regional offices – Land Transportation Office (LTO), National Telecommunications Council (NTC), and the National Foods Authority (NFA) in Jaro District were caught unprepared ruining license and registration records, important documents; crashing computer facilities, office furniture and equipment. Reparation cost was pegged at 100M. Water ruined the NFA warehouse and carried away 200,000 sacks of rice.
In the course of the typhoon, search and rescue operation was mounted by the disaster management office in cooperation with other volunteer rescue teams. They used rubber boats and dump trucks to breach the floodwater to bring to safety those who took refuge on rooftops. Some jet skis were deployed to fetch those marooned in subdivisions.
The mobile phone was the saving grace for many, a handy gadget for survival – for sending out text messages calling for help and for a gasp of light in the middle of darkness. In times of calamity SMS spells SOS.
The Rehabilitation Plan. The rehabilitation plan for Iloilo City would cost government about P378M: about 143M is for immediate intervention and 235M for medium-term implementation. Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas has ordered the continued relief assistance to the remaining critical barangays and at the evacuation centers where the homeless still remain; providing them not only food but also cooking utensils, mats, pillows and blankets. He ordered the purchase of two gensets for the evacuation sites, installation of portable toilets, electricity and water supply systems including overhead storage tanks.
For those whose houses were completely devastated, the City gave bamboos and plywood to partly subsidize shelter of some 1,900 relocatee-families. Those living along river banks and creeks were not allowed to return; instead, the City has allocated some 16.4 hectares in Jaro District as relocation site. While building their new house, some families who wanted to leave the evacuation centers, shall be accommodated in the temporary shelters at the relocation where communal toilets, bathrooms, wash areas, kitchen and dug-wells with pump facilities shall also be provided. Latest word from the national government says, the palace just approved some 35M for the relocation cost.
Some 46M is appropriated for roads and drainage repair. Another million pesos is projected for the Cash for Work program where more street cleaners were hired as casuals to help clean up the City fast. The Metro Manila Development Authority relief contingent was requested to stay longer so that the cleansing process would be completed very soon. Their heavy-duty decloggers and bobcats were indispensable equipment in the clearing operation.
Water treatment plants provided by several local and foreign governments and civic organizations were installed in various locations to serve the city residents needing potable water
Sessions for stress management and reorientation seminar on disasters are on-going and shall be extended to many who were traumatized by the flash floods. The heavy downpours would usually bring shivers especially to those who have lost their loved ones and those who have near-death experiences on rooftops.
Generator sets were budgeted for the Health Centers in Jaro and Mandurriao. The purchase and distribution of medicine has been reinforced by donations from charitable foundations. The repair of the LaPaz Maternity Clinic and purchase of replacement for the damaged equipment are to be completed in September.
In agriculture and fisheries, rehabilitation measures include purchase and distribution of certified rice seeds, fertilizers, vegetable seeds, bangus fries and fishing gears; and the repair of the Plant Nursery Building.
For disaster preparedness, the Crisis Management Office shall be provided with emergency equipment and gears such as handheld radios, flashlights, ropes, computers, chainsaws, ladders, boots, rubber boat, emergency van, etc. Each barangay shall have flatboats and bamboo rafts ready for the calamity.
For the next two months, repair and reconstruction shall be prioritized for the affected day care centers, schools, and utilities – drainage, water and power lines.
For The Long Haul. Mayor Treñas has thought of continual assistance in providing farm inputs for agriculture, fisheries, and livestock dispersals; and a continuous improvement in health monitoring and medical services. Each district health centers shall have a generator set, communication facilities and vehicles. Medical staff shall undergo training in disaster response management.
The relocation site shall be developed to the tune of P180M. The Crisis Management Office shall acquire more rubber boats, a dump truck, 2 flatboats, safety gears, work tools. Crisis staff shall also undergo training in rescue operations.
Schools and covered gyms which are usually used as evacuation centers shall be provided with overhead water tanks and standby generators. Additional water tank carriers shall be acquired. The drainage system shall be dug up, a declogging machine plus dump truck and materials handling tools shall be purchased. The city shall assess and update its Disaster Management Plan; and strengthen the capabilities of the City Social Welfare and Development Office through improved storage facilities, better inventory management and personnel training in disaster preparedness.
This is a big plan and it is not an easy task for just a few people. If we want to make this plan real, everyone in the community has to work for it.
A Chinese lore tells of how one could get from nowhere to somewhere: one should have a dream in his eyes, a voice in his ears, a sword in his arm and a song in his heart. With Bangon Iloilo in our minds, it’s not far that we could rebuild Iloilo City, move on and move up!
Author: Ben Jimena
Iloilo City Tourism Officer
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