CONVERGENCE OF GOVERNMENT AND HUMANITARIAN RESOURCES AND EFFORTS HELP THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES IN CDO
In Cagayan de Oro City there are more than 8,000 families needing new homes after their houses were destroyed early dawn of December 17, 2011 by Tropical Storm Sendong (International Name, Washi).
The need prompted the national government, the local government unit of Cagayan de Oro, and humanitarian organizations to construct immediately permanent shelters for the internally displaced families.
Based on the criteria set by the Local Inter-agency Committee (LIAC)—chaired by Mayor Emano and represented by national government agencies and non-government organizations—families whose houses were totally destroyed are given priority of occupancy. Candidate families include those falling under the informal sector and those who were residents at the declared no-build zones (areas that were considered by the government not safe for building structures).
The list of beneficiaries assessed and validated by the LIAC has already been finalized and is now being used by the government as a basis for selecting the prioritized families.
Humanitarian Efforts
After President Aquino declared the Philippines in state of national calamity for the Philippines days after the tragedy, numerous humanitarian organizations including the United Nations intervened to aid government offices in the relief operation, as well as early recovery and rehabilitation for the internally displaced families.
Donations from local, national, and international entities poured in for the survivors totalling to more than P71,000,000.00. Additionally, the government, together with the International Organization for Migration, assisted and transferred the families to evacuation centers and transitional sites to provide them temporary shelter. More than 2,000 volunteers, including students, lined up to help the survivors through psychosocial interventions and stress debriefings and through generous provision of relief goods.
Committees and clusters were created and national agencies and the local government coordinated and brought together their resources in order to facilitate a faster recovery of the survivor-families.
At present, initial efforts have been made to provide the internally displaced families with sustainable livelihood and skills training.
Shelter Units Constructed
The recent houses constructed in Calaanan and Indahag, Cagayan de Oro City and recently turned over last April, were those funded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development amounting to P203,000,000.00 in cost. The Habitat for Humanity Philippines helped in the construction of the houses, while the local government unit of Cagayan de Oro headed by Mayor Vicente Emano provided the land areas.




























