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Rehab Starts in Reloc Sites
After 3 weeks of relief operations in various evacuation centers in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities, work has now shifted to the Rehabilitation of houses and individuals in Relocation sites in both cities.
In Cagayan de Oro, 4 Temporary relocation sites have been identified and another 4 Permanent sites are now being prepared.
The Temporary sites were furnished with Tents for the victims while their more permanent homes will be constructed. These sites are in Calaanan, 3.5 hectares with already 356 tents installed while another 3.5 ha will be cleared by the City Engineer’s Office. 
In Lumbia, 5 ha is being cleared by A. brown which will have 120 bunkhouses from the DSWD and 320 bunkhouses from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Philippine National Red Cross Chairman Dick Gordon said there is a need to move people faster to rehabilitate them. The PRC, in coordination with Xavier University and other groups is building the houses on the 5 ha lot donated by XU plus another 2 ha that was added to the area. He said that tents will first be constructed and the people will build their own houses. They will be provided with all the materials needed, to include hollow blocks, cement, lumber and 26 ga sheets for roofing.
The Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro has also set aside space in the San Jose Seminary in Camaman-an and another plot in the old Cemetery near the XU Main campus. A 3.5 ha property in Balulang is also being prepared for the purpose.
The Sendong survivors will be getting a more permanent home either in Calaanan with 9.5 ha, Indahag with 9 ha and a 50 ha property in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental.
These families came from the “no-build zones”: Sitio Calacala (Macasandig), Isla de Oro, Isla Delta, Copa, Tambo (Macasandig), Isla Bugnao, Isla Baksan, families whose houses were totally damaged.
At least 17.5 hectares of land had been identified as suitable permanent settlement site for the Typhoon Sendong victims of Cagayan de Oro City.
“These areas had been selected to heed the call of President Benigno S. Aquino III to make sure that the victims should be relocated in areas where they are safe,” Atty. Araceli F. Solamillo, Regional Director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), region 10, said.
She said the President has ordered that the victims should no longer be allowed to go back to their previous location where lives were threatened and lost and their belongings washed out during the ‘Sendong’ onslaught, last Dec. 17.
Construction of the shelters in these sites will be taken from the Core Shelter Assistance Project of DSWD, which has an allocation of Php206.36 million.
These resettlement areas include the 3.5 ha., for the Tent City and nine (9) ha. for the row houses in Sitio Calaanan, Barangay Canitoan and the 5 ha. site in Zone 3, Barangay Lumbia, which is donated by Xavier University (XU).
Solamillo said these sites were assessed to be accessible and near the basic service facilities, like health center, primary and secondary school with water sources from the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD).
Meanwhile, DSWD-10 has mobilized their KALAHI (Kabisig Laban sa Kahrapan) Engineers to assist in the site inspection and to monitor the development of the resettlement area.
So far, 89 shelter boxes have been installed in Calaanan by the Rotary Club with the assistance of the Philippine National Police (PNP) trainees and Capitol University (CU) student volunteers while the installation of 408 tents are ongoing.
Clearing of the site of the XU-donated property which is allotted for the construction of houses for 120 families has continued while the adjacent area is under negotiation by the International Organization Migration (IOM) for the construction of bunkhouses for 320 families.
Solamillo said a tripartite memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the permanent shelter of TS Sendong victims is being drafted among parties concerned, namely, DSWD-10, City Government of Cagayan de Oro and Habitat for Humanity.
The DSWD said that the awarding of slots will be based on the Monthly income of a family of 6 which should be below the food threshold that is P10,936 in urban areas and P9,767 in rural areas (based on NSCB poverty statistic report)
Prioritization will be based on a) families with small children; b) families with pregnant and lactating mothers; c) surrogate parents of orphaned children living in the Evacuation Centers who are equally situated with totally damaged shelters units; d) families with damaged houses whose head of household died or were incapacitated as aresult of the disaster; and e) families with seriously ill members or persons with disabilities or with special needs.
Shelter Cluster led by DSWD and UN Habitat emphasizes that one tent will accommodate only one family.
Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ, DD said he has mobilized religious women from various congregations to do liaison and research on the evacuees’ identities and needs at government-provided shelters. He said that the first phase of the relocation program is temporary housing and that is the reason why tents are being set-up in safer places.
“Carmen Parish church has set aside some areas for temporary shelter through twenty tents good enough for forty families,” the prelate said. He added that over and above the five-hectare donation of the Society of Jesus there are still open spaces for tent cities.
He also acknowledged the support of their volunteers from the Archdiocesan Social Action Center.
“The Social Action Center works closely with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the coordination has been good,” he added.
The prelate said it is also incumbent upon the government to help people even those who do not stay at the government’s evacuation centers.
Offers have been received by the archdiocese from the British-controlled Diego Garcia, from Rome to Canada and the United States.
Another matter that needs to be addressed is the Psychosocial Processing (PSP) or distress counseling of the victims. DSWD will provide the assistance for children aged 0-5 years old; DepEd provides PSP to children aged 6-18 years old and DOH provides PSP to adults. There are also several private groups that have been going around the evacuation centers providing such counseling for the victims. (with a report from Melo M. Acuna/CBCPNews and Rutchie Cabahug-Aguhob/PIA10)
Photos above show two of the Temporary sites with tents for the occupants. Photo above right is by Ed Montalvan, and below left by CIO
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