PRESS RELEASE

August 14, 2017 Contact Person:

Joli Torella,
Coordinator Shelter
Working Group, CYSP
CP#0917.793.3288

Yolanda Survivors group welcomes the creation of IATF Yolanda

August 14, 2017, Tacloban City The Community of Yolanda Survivors and Partners (CYSP), an alliance of
10 NGOs and 163 community partners at the forefront of Yolanda response with Development and
Peace/Caritas-Canada, welcome the creation of the Inter-Agency Task Force Yolanda (IATF-Yolanda).
Administrative Order No. 5, signed 08 August of this year, establishes the coordinating body that will
oversee the efficient and effective coordination between various government agencies and
instrumentalities involved in Yolanda recovery and rehabilitation programs and projects.

We welcome the issuance of Administrative Order No. 5, creating the IATF-Yolanda. We are hoping that
after the realization of IATF-Yolandas objectives, this IATF will eventually be a permanent department/unit
that will oversee and ensure the timely, efficient and effective response to disaster stricken areas, as we
have proposed since last year, said Joli Torella, coordinator of the CYSP Shelter Working group.

Ang isang pinagpapasalamat namin ay ang probisyon sa AO na may konsultasyon sa aming Yolanda
Survivors. Ang kawalan ng konsultasyon sa aming mga Survivors ang ugat ng maraming problema, lalung-
lalo na sa pabahay, (One thing we are thankful for is the provision in the AO that ensures consultation
with us Yolanda Survivors. The lack of consultation is the root of the many problems, especially in the
provision of shelter) said Lita T. Bagunas, Yolanda Survivor from Eastern Samar. Hinahanap lang namin
ang DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform) sa mga ahensiyang kasama sa IATF-Yolanda. Sa tulad naming
magsasaka, DAR ang may saklaw sa titulo namin, kaya sana maihabol sila sa Task Force, (We are,
however, looking for DARs inclusion in the IATF-Yolanda. For farmers like us, DAR is the lead agency in
titling. We are hoping that DAR would be included) Bagunas added.

CYSP acknowledged the timely response of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to
the reports of sub-standard NHA housing. In July 19, 2017, NEDA conducted a validation activity on the
said reports, visiting the NHA relocation site in Brgy. Cansumangkay, Balangiga. We have yet to secure a
copy of the report, but we are confident that NEDA was able to establish the truth behind the dancing
houses of NHA in Balangiga. Maybe this validation activity helped in pushing for the issuance of AO No. 5.
Presently, we would like to manifest our request for a similar validation or audit of all existing and those
with ongoing construction of relocation sites across the Yolanda corridor, quipped Rina Reyes, co-
coordinator of CYSP Shelter Working Group.

Edwin Torres, MABATAP HOA President of Tacloban City, also lauds the stringent penalties to the officers
of agencies concerned who will be found uncooperative. Maganda ang AO dahil may ngipin, may penalty
sa mga opisyales ng mga ahensiyang hindi tutugon. Babantayan namin ang implementasyon nitong AO,
(The beauty of the AO is it has some teeth to it because of the penalties that may be meted out to officers
of the agencies who will not comply with the provisions of the AO. We will be guarding the implementation
of the AO) he said.

CYSP met with the Cabinet Secretary last year in Tacloban and discussed its proposal for the creation of a
central body that will ensure the coordination between agencies to resolve any bottlenecks in the delivery
of rehabilitation response to disaster-stricken areas. For this, we are truly thankful to Cabinet Secretary
Evasco for addressing our concerns and taking note of our proposed measures, and for President Duterte
for authorizing the creation of the IATF-Yolanda. We are looking forward for the CYSP to participate in the
crafting, implementation and evaluation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), as stated in
Section 3 of the AO, Torella added.

In summary, CYSP sees that anomalies in reconstruction have been, largely, a consequence of government
treating Survivors as recipients of aid and not as active actors in the reconstruction process. This has dire
consequences. One is failure to build back better, reflective in the sub-standard construction of
rehabilitation projects, including housing projects; and two, is the continuing lack of accountability and
business as usual approach of government agencies, with little regard to the welfare and well-being of
Survivors.

The IATF should now reckon with the current status of Yolanda reconstruction through reports of
government agencies, and very importantly, the assessments of Survivors. Henceforth, CYSP expects and
anticipate real reforms in rehabilitation were Survivors welfare and interest are at the center of
rehab/reconstruction process.
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