The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has ordered its field officials to submit a consolidated list of all unused government-owned agricultural land for distribution to victims of typhoon “Odette.”
Secretary Bernie Cruz issued the order in response to the instructions from President Rodrigo Duterte directing DAR and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to expedite the distribution of unused agricultural land to typhoon victims.
He directed agency officials to prioritize and speed up the acquisition and distribution of unused government lands, which would be distributed in the first quarter of 2022.
Earlier, the President had ordered the immediate eviction of residents living on coastal easements within 40 meters of the shoreline to prevent loss of lives and damage to property during natural calamities such as Typhoon Odette.
“It will be a summary eviction,” the President said in a recent command conference with military and police officials in Cebu.
“Don’t wait for the court to issue an order. They [residents] will usually seek court intervention through a writ of injunction. Let us just tell the judge: ‘You know, Judge, this is what the government wants [to do] to protect its citizens,” Duterte said.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año reported to Duterte that some residents living along coastal easements have resisted efforts to have them relocated despite an existing law that there should be no housing structures within 40 meters of the shoreline.
Malacañang said Wednesday the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to procure tarpaulin sheets and lumber from uprooted coconut trees would be the fastest way to make temporary shelters while waiting for the construction materials to arrive in areas ravaged by Typhoon Odette.
But acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said that construction materials that will be used to build sturdier shelters “will come later” in the first quarter next year.
Nograles said the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and a sub-committee on shelter, will be making the plans necessary for additional funds for next year.
The 2022 national budget and quick response funds (QRFs) are also expected to supplement funds needed to construct or repair severely damaged houses.
In a prerecorded Talk to the People on Monday, Duterte ordered Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista to procure tarpaulin sheets and lumber from uprooted coconut trees so that families would have materials to build temporary shelters.
Typhoon Odette caused more than P28 million worth of damage in 506,404 houses; more than P16 billion worth of damage to infrastructure, and more than P5 billion worth of damage to agriculture, according to data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
More than 300 cities and municipalities in the Visayas and Mindanao were placed under a state of calamity.
More temporary shelters will be established for Typhoon Odette victims as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) sent some 500 rolls of sakoline or laminated sacks to Butuan and Surigao.
The agency’s Field Office (FO) in Calabarzon will also augment 500 family tents to Mimaropa, while its Field Office in Bicol will deliver 500 rolls of laminated sacks to its affected areas. Earlier, the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) delivered 272 family tents to Siargao.
DSWD, meanwhile, has continued providing food to typhoon-hit areas.
The DSWD and Office of Civil Defense, and the Regional Maritime Unit in Central Visayas delivered 500 family food packs (FFPs) to Inabanga, Bohol.
In Western Visayas, DSWD also sent 2,200 FFPs to Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental. To hasten the distribution of aid to affected locals, FO 4 staff also provided technical assistance to the local government unit (LGU).
In Palawan, the regional office delivered some 2,000 FFPs to the municipality of Taytay. The FFPs arrived at the Port of Puerto Princesa City through the assistance of the Philippine Coast Guard.
The DSWD in Caraga also started its distribution of financial assistance under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program to families affected by ‘Odette’ in Dapa, Surigao del Norte and Basilisa, Province of Dinagat Islands.
The regional office reported that more families from other affected municipalities are expected to receive assistance as soon as the results of the rapid assessment conducted by the DSWD and concerned LGUs are validated.
As of Dec. 29, more than P180 million worth of humanitarian assistance has already been provided to affected families.
Of this amount, more than P137 million worth of augmentation assistance was provided by the DSWD, more than P42 million worth of aid was given by concerned LGUs to their constituents, while more than P1 million worth of aid was provided by non-government organizations and other partners.
