Vanguard
2 Dec . 19 - 24 , 2016
80 % of poor eat
only twice a day
Tacloban goes green
By Elmer V . Recuerdo
TACLOBAN CITY – Drawing lessons from the devastation caused by super typhoon Yolanda three years ago to lives and properties , the city government is now gearing towards low carbon development in the overall development direction of the city .
“ We are now at the point where we cannot go back to business as usual or else we will just keep on rebuilding ,” says Janis Claire Canta , planning officer of Tacloban city government . “ So the direction of the city now is towards resiliency and this cuts all across the sectors .”
Canta says reconstruction initiatives in the city is geared towards adopting a low carbon development , meaning a development model with minimal output of greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient economic growth .
“ If we will talk of low carbon development and what it means to Tacloban , we have to put it in a context of its natural characteristics ,” she said . Canta said the position and geophysical characteristics of the city makes it a typhoon prone , vulnerable to natural hazards and susceptible to climate disasters .
“ Tacloban averages around 20 typhoons a year and the strongest usually hits here because of its location ,” she said . “ Also because of our location , we also feel the climate change realities like sea level rise , increase rain fall and increased temperature . The increased temperature is a serious issue to us because the hotter the weather will be , the stronger the typhoons .”
On the other hand , she said , Tacloban is the economic hub of Eastern Visayas where people from different parts of the region come to transact with government offices , do business and trade , study in big universities , work . “ The challenge is how to maintain the position as economic center while making sure that the development that happens is also towards resiliency .”
“ For the longest time we could not focus on mitigation and low carbon development because of our location . We kept on reacting to impending typhoons like moving people to safer places , and immediately after the storm we rebuild what were destroyed . We can ’ t keep on doing this forever ,” she said .
Priorities
Canta identified five priority projects of the city that will be implementing in the next five years in line with that concept .
These include the transfer of some 15,000 families living on high risk areas to an emerging township in the northern barangays of the city , development of a sanitary landfill that will also double as solar farm , reduction of diesel-run tricycles and jeeps and promotion of electric-run models , integrated watershed management and community waste segregation .
Canta said the plans that were drafted by the city government including the comprehensive land use plan ( CLUP ), city disaster risk reduction and management plan , and local climate change action plan already mainstreamed disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation . The city council recently approve the CLUP .
“ When we do all these plans the treatment is holistic and participative since we consider that many belong to the vulnerable sector like people living in informal settlements and people living in coastal areas ,” Canta said .
From household to the streets
Tacloban Mayor Cristina G . Romualdez
Implementing a low carbon development in Tacloban will entail changes in habits and practices from the households to the community starting with how the residents deal with garbage .
“ Community-waste segregation is an urgent issue . We are spending 80 million annually for garbage collection alone ,” says Canta . “ The bulk of our garbage , half is recyclable , a huge part of the remaining is compostable .”
Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Romualdez recently announced that the city government will soon be closing the present sanitary landfill .
“ If we will not do a waste segregation , our garbage will keep on piling up . We cannot just keep on collecting this huge volume of garbage ,” Romualdez said . “ We want to bring down our expense on garbage collection , too .”
Romualdez admitted that there is a need to train people on waste segregation on the household level .
Tacloban is spending P80 million a year on garbage collection alone . The city government has already tied-up with the office of Sen . Loren Legarda and Mother Earth Foundation to come up with programs to support extensive waste segregation at the barangay level .
Canta said the city is also looking for means to gradual-
By Gina Dean
Calbayog City – Around 317 ( 80 %) of the 400 families surveyed under the 4Ps program were eating only twice a day , while 23 ( 5.7 %) were said to have only one meal a day . This explains why 1,269 children were underweight or overweight children , while 947 were severely underweight .
This was one of the major findings of the recent assessment made by the Department of Social Welfare and Development of some 9,000 4Ps beneficiaries , considered the poorest sections of Philippine society here .
Around 60 percent of 4Ps beneficiaries were found to have professional , technical or occupational skills which were not recognized by prospective employers . In terms of employment , 4,405 ( 49 %) parent leaders worked in the two to six months period , while 3,790 ( 42 %) were unemployed .
ly shift from diesel-run public transport to electric models . There are electric tricycles and multicabs already plying within the city but these are far outnumbered by those using gasoline .
“ Tricycles and motorcycles are the cheapest form of transportation . It is cheap but its emission accounts a huge chunk of pollution ,” she said . Transitioning to electric-run public transportation may not come very soon but the enabling environment is already being started . “ All we need is for investors and partners to come in to speed up the process .”#
( 6 dead ... from p . 1 )
Pobadora , 51 , married , masseur , Brgy . Balite Villaba , Leyte ; 7 . Marya Vlansce Claodine Espiritu , 23 , single , student , Brgy . Apitong , Tacloban ; 8 . Marilyn Marquez y Omega , 52 , married , teacher , Brgy . Tinago , Palompon , Leyte ; and 9 . a certain Alyas Umpad , Can Cosme , Palompon , Leyte , who died on arrival at the Villaba Community Hospital .
Three passengers from Gee Rhaim Tours also suffered injuries . They were 1 . Eduardo P . Bohol , 64 , retired , radio operator , married , Labangon , Cebu ; 2 . Avelina A .. Bohol , 63 , bookkeeper , married , wife of Eduardo Bohol ; and 3 . Alma S . Raab y , 50 , married , housewife , Brgy . Pob del Norte , Villaba , Leyte .
The injured were brought to various hospitals in Ormoc , such as Ormoc District Hospital , Ormoc Doctors Hospital and Ormoc Sugar Planters Association hospital .#
The assessment was attended by nearly 400 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program parent leaders of Calbayog attended the recent DSWD-led inter-agency committee meeting , where the result of the social welfare and development assessment of 9,000 respondents were presented at the city ’ s Cultural Convention Center .
DSWD ’ s Samar Provincial Link Manneth Catina said they used an enhanced tool emphasizing economic and social aspects , the assessment of the respondents ’ wellbeing is under survival and subsistence level . The office has yet to determine whether the respondents ’ wellbeing has improved or not because this was the first assessment conducted for the period November 2015 until January 2016 .
“ There were social indicators in 2013 but the assessment or house-to-house survey was conducted from November 2015 until January 2016 after enhancing the tool by the national office . We presented the result in the LGU level inviting different agencies ( local and national ) to help us out in responding to specific areas that needs utmost intervention ,” Catina said .
Water and toilets
In terms of access to water , 1,898 families drink safe water , but 1 , 931 households have access to drinking water with unguaranteed sources like spring , lake and river .
As for sanitary toilet facilities , there were 1 , 364 PP families have unsanitary toilet facilities like open pits and pail system ; while 2 , 673 have no toilets at all .
In education , 693 family members could not read , write , count and understand simple messages or instructions . It was also discovered that more than 1,000 children of 4Ps families were not enrolled or attended less than 70 % of the number of school days in the current school year .
Catina said there are cases of misbehaviour that 4Ps beneficiaries commit , like involvement in gambling , alcoholism and cash card pawning , which clearly defeat the purpose of the program .
“ Negosyo gud ini . So kun hino an dumaop ha loan sharks para umutang , magrab hira . The purpose of the program is defeated . It becomes a vicious cycle especially in areas with cash card mode of payment ,” she said
Matina admitted that they are facing challenges in the implementation of the program , such as obtain-
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