The Post-Yolanda Housing Situation in the Philippines
A reported 300 Kph-strong, hurricane category 5 tropical cyclone hit the Philippines on November 8, 2013 and devastated a large number of areas located within nine (9) administrative Regions of the country.
The final report on the actual scientific and technical analysis and assessment of this natural phenomenon - its true levels of strength at various stages, identifiable patterns of emergence (if any), and other factors, will take some more time, however the situation on the ground of those that were affected by the disaster needs immediate attention.
Furthermore, also needing immediate and serious attention are the victims of calamities about to occur in the near future in the Metro Manila and surrounding areas. The Philippine Government itself, together with other sectors, have warned that the next big calamity will strike the national capital region itself. These bodes for measures to mitigate the atrocities and huge damages to Metro Manila similar to the ones suffered by the people in Visayas and parts of Mindanao brought about by tropical cyclone Yolanda.
The Philippine Government, in cooperation with foreign donors has put in place a few stop gap measures to alleviate the conditions of the victims, 90% of whom had either totally lost their homes and valuables, with more than 50% up to a high of 75% also losing their very source of livelihood in the process:
1. Crops (rice, coconut, corn, other primary agricultural resource)
2. Merchandise for retail, wholesale
3. Manufactured light products (paper based, light wood-based, water-based, others)
4. Real estate improvements (for rent space - building, house, etc.)
5. Others
In the current situation, housing materials are being given by Raffle Draw to victims of the disaster. Twelve (12) pieces of new metal roof sheets are given to a few victims whose names are picked in a Raffle Draw at the level of the Municipality. Along with the 12 roof sheets are different sizes of nails. The metal roofs are marked with a foreign brand and are said to have arrived from outside the Republic of the Philippines. At this rate therefore, with the giving of roof sheets through the Raffle Draw it is envisioned it will take a considerable amount of time to service several hundreds of thousands up to millions of victims without any capacity to borrow money or generate new income to allow them to completely rebuild their homes and return to normal life and hopefully, as well to their livelihood.
Eventually, the Philippine Government will come around towards extending support and assistance for reconstruction of destroyed houses, even for those that cannot afford to repay the cost over the long run, to have their houses rebuilt. This will have to be within a more immediate time frame, since as the victim families have stated, during the aftermath of Yolanda, everytime it rains they have to find trees, old walls of their destroyed houses and stand up to minimize catching rainfall then wait in one position until the rain stops.
Revival of Funded Project
An aborted project in Luzon with a fund of no less than Eighty Billion Philippine Pesos (PHP80-B) was due to be staged in more than two thousand five hundred hectares (2,500 has) of alienable and disposable real estate in the Municipality of Tanay, Province of Rizal with a resettlement housing and satellite resettlement communities in Real, Infanta, and Nakar – all in the Province of Quezon that will occupy an aggregate real estate size of more or less six to ten thousand hectares (6,000-10,000 has).
The project became possible with the preparation of a Project Pre-Feasibility Study that outlined the creation of s elf-sustaining communities in the vicinity of Eastern Metro Manila-Rizal-Quezon area also called Marilaque area. Said study was submitted to a foreign Funder that upon evaluation of the merits of the undertaking, approved the enterprise for an investment loan with very soft terms and conditions with an absolute value of United States Dollars Two Billion (USD2-B) in 1999. On record, the approval of the investment and necessary documentation to be accomplished and signed with the beneficiary (as represented in this project's case by the Philippine Government), were forwarded by the Funder to the Philippines.
