Three years after Supertyphoon Yolanda, there are still 62% of core shelters for the survivors to be built.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development said that only 38 percent of the core shelters for Yolanda survivors were built three years after the supertyphoon slammed Visayas.
The supertyphoon left more than 7,000 persons dead or missing and left vast damages on many parts of Eastern Visayas and other areas in the central Philippines.
This was disclosed by DSWD a day before the third anniversary of super typhoon Yolanda which hit the Philippines on November 8, 2013.
The data comes from the ongoing investigation conducted by the DSWD into the agency’s recovery and rehabilitation program in the wake of Yolanda.
In a statement, DSWD said the review was among the priorities set by Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo after she took her office. This is following the reception of complaints soon after assuming office from individuals and organizations about the department’s relief distribution in the immediate aftermath of Yolanda and during the recovery and rehabilitation period.
The statement said that DSWD’s research looked at the distribution of emergency shelter assistance, construction of transition homes and core shelters, other programs implemented from donations, and Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services- National Community Driven Development Project sub-projects implemented.
The statement also quoted DSWD Assistant Secretary Aleli Bawagan, the team leader of the group that undertook the investigation.
The DSWD official called the completion rate of core shelter construction “shameful because we are all aware of how much the survivors have already suffered during and after Typhoon Yolanda, and yet we were unable to provide … what was promised them — safe houses they can rest in as they try to recover from the extreme stress and trauma they suffered.”
Based on the data, the DSWD targets to construct 1,559 units of core shelter using ADB grant.
As of Aug. 15, 2016, only 8 have been completed, located in Hindang, 59 are ongoing (3 in Hilongos, 20 in Hindang, 36 in Tacloban) and 1,492 units have not yet started construction.