Special body formed to focus on Ondoy, Pepeng rehab efforts

Three weeks after massive flooding caused by “Ondoy" inundated his home in Bulacan, Fernando Solis is still reeling from the destruction. Nearly all his family’s belongings have been submerged in flood and rendered useless; his community seems a wasteland.

“Yung ipinundar naminfor nine years ng wife ko, nawala. Yung mga natira, kailangan na namin itapon (What we have accumulated in the past nine years are now gone. We even had to throw what were left behind)," said Solis, an employee of a Makati-based company. Wary of another disaster, Solis had to make the difficult decision to leave his family’s two-story apartment and look for a new one where they can start rebuilding their lives. “Yung anak ko, traumatized pa rin. Kahit ako mismo, na-trauma. Lumaki ako sa Caloocan, parating baha roon. Pero ngayon lang ako nakaranas ng baha na life-threatening (My son is still traumatized. The experience is also traumatic for me even if I grew up in Caloocan where flooding is common. It’s the first time I encountered a life-threatening flood)," he said. Still, Solis said he remains hopeful that they can still recover from the catastrophe even if they have to start from scratch. ’Reconstruction Commission’ Solis is only among the millions that a special body touted as the Special Commission for Ondoy and Pepeng Reconstruction Fund (SCOPE-RF) intends to help after Ondoy and Pepeng cut wide swaths of destruction over Luzon, including Metro Manila. Albay Gov. Jose Ma Clemente “Joey" Salceda on Tuesday said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had approved his proposal for the creation of the commission. “The President called me last night and said she had already signed an executive order," Salceda said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV. Salceda, the President’s economic adviser, said the commission primarily seeks about US$1-billion (roughly P46-billion) in international grants. Salceda added that Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan agreed to co-chair the commission with Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral and Manila Archbishop Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales. Other members of the special body include Cabinet members, heads of business groups, and international and local civic groups such as the World Wildlife Fund and Gawad Kalinga. Representatives from the Office of Civil Defense and the National Economic and Development Authority will form the commission’s secretariat. $1-billion grant Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, an important administration ally, had earlier criticized the proposal as a knee-jerk reaction. "That proposal, I think, is just a measure of the hysteria that has arisen because people are afraid. If it is only an ad hoc body, then the next president will be perfectly correct in dissolving it because that would lie within his authority," she said. [See: Creation of special body to rehabilitate cyclone-hit RP opposed] But Salceda stressed that the commission intends to provide long-term solutions to the problems because relief efforts only ease the victims’ burden temporarily. "The commission will precisely provide the development framework - climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction as guiding principles for the reconstruction. Sympathy can only induce so much assistance. Development framework will precisely provide the impetus and the pretext for more aid injections," he said. Salceda added that the response of the government to the calamity “cannot just be another borrowing program." Hence, the $1-billion target is supposed to be sourced from foreign aid. He likewise said that the Philippines is "eligible for constructive compensation" because calamities in the country are linked to climate change. Salceda said the targeted $1-billion grant constitutes the following components: P21 billion for infrastructure rehabilitation, P5 billion for agriculture rehabilitation, and P20 billion for relocation of affected residents. According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council’s (NDCC) latest updates, Pepeng displaced about 533,856 families (more than 2 million individuals) while Ondoy affected 880,175 families (more than 4 million people). The NDCC said Pepeng damaged about P7.172 billion worth of infrastructure and agriculture, while Ondoy left about P10.450 billion worth of damages to infrastructure and agriculture. - GMANews.TV