Written by Jan Robert R. Go.
Two years and ten months since typhoon Yolanda, the effects on the lives of the survivors are still felt. Families are still in search of stable livelihood and decent resettlement. The government has not yet addressed the major concerns of the survivors and their families. Problems on land for relocation, clean water, and drainage and sewer systems, among others, remain. With a new administration, there is a new hope that these concerns will be given attention and eventually resolved.
On 8 September 2016, the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) and Oxfam Philippines held a press conference ‘Resettling Communities, Unsettling Realities,’ which focused on the alarming situation of resettlement in Tacloban City, a typhoon Haiyan-affect area. The panel of guests includes representatives from the Council of Yolanda Survivors Association of Tacloban (CYSAT), Philippine Network of Rural Development Institutes (PhilNet-RDI), Tacloban City Community Affairs Office, PLCPD, and Oxfam. In the press conference, two major concerns were highlighted by the panellists: (1) the quality of housing facility provided by the National Housing Authority (NHA), and (2) the demand for safe and clean water for the communities.