BangonPilipinas: PNoy forms task group for 'Yolanda' rehab

Abs-cbnnews: MANILA - President Aquino has formed a task group composed of various Cabinet members which would come up with a “comprehensive rehabilitation program” for areas hit by super typhoon “Yolanda.”

“President Aquino directed the Cabinet yesterday to hasten the transition of relief efforts into the full-scale rehabilitation and rebuilding of typhoon-damaged areas,” Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma said.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla, a former governor of Leyte, has been designated as coordinator of the task group.

Coloma said the task group has identified areas of priorities which would be supervised by corresponding cabinet members:

1. Shelter and reconstruction: DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson;
2. Power restoration - Energy Secretary Petilla;
3. Livelihood and employment - Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo, DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, and TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva;
4. Resettlement and psychosocial care - DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman;
5. Environmental protection - DENR Secretary Ramon Paje;
6. Resource generation and allocation - Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, DBM Secretary Butch Abad, and DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario.
7. The post-disaster needs assessment and inter-agency effort will be supervised by Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras.

NEDA Director General Arsenio Balisacan will be tasked to synthesize and integrate all proposed programs and projects for submission to the President and the cabinet.

“The President emphasized to the cabinet that a fine-tuned plan responsive to the specific needs at the community level is necessary. He also said that it is important to enable the people to attain greater self-reliance while participating in the rebuilding of their communities,” Coloma said.

The task group has been directed to submit and present the plan not later than Wednesday, November 27.

Aquino is also tapping the help of local government units across the nation.

Aquino has asked Nueva Ecija Governor Aurelio “Boy” Umali, president of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), “to mobilize the active participation of the Leagues of Provinces, Cities, and Municipalities and the Liga ng mga Barangay in concerted efforts to fully engage the citizenry at the grassroots level.”

The rehabilitation plan will also involve the plan of the MMDA and Metro Manila mayors to “adopt-a-town” to help rehabilitate LGUs in Leyte, Samar, and other affected areas.

An “adopt-a-family” plan is also in the works to support affected families.

Rehabilitation may take a long time as rebuilding efforts in communities affected by typhoons “Sendong” and “Pablo” are still ongoing.

But Coloma said the administration seeks to “fast-track” the rehabilitation efforts.

Meantime, Aquino also ordered Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and DOST Secretary Mario Montejo to look into the “extraordinarily high number of casualties” in certain areas in Leyte with the aim of finding out what happened and building more resilient houses and structures in the future.

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BangonPilipinas: Oxford students raise funds for ‘Yolanda’ victims

Globalnation: Oleri Galope, a Filipino student and president of the Oxford Philippines Society, hosted a special formal dinner at Oriel College, University of Oxford on November 23 to raise money to help the victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) in the Philippines.

The event was attended by students from different colleges of the University of Oxford as well as representatives of the Philippine Embassy, including Consul General  Senen Mangalile, the acting ambassador of the Philippines to the UK, Maria Fe Pangilinan, and other dignitaries.

The 138  guests, mostly foreign students, enjoyed the magnificence of the historic surroundings of Oriel, the fifth oldest college in Oxford, and the college with the oldest Royal Foundation, whose official visitor is the Queen.

The event started with a champagne reception at Oriel’s Champneys’s Room, accompanied by a performance by a cellist from the Oxford University Philharmonia.

The event has been a great success, with great help from Oriel College, University of Oxford, and their
different sponsors.

“We had 10 days to prepare and it has been hard-work but we cannot stay at Oxford and do nothing. Although we are students, and we are away from our home country, we felt the need to contribute in any way we can no matter how small the contribution is,” says Galope

From the dinner and donations online they were able to raised more than £6500.

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BangonPilipinas: UN to seek more aid for typhoon relief

Orla Fagan of the UN Office

Globalnation: MANILA, Philippines—The United Nations is to seek more international aid to shelter and give temporary jobs to millions displaced by the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon in history, officials said on Friday.

“Providing shelter and rebuilding lives is an urgent priority,” said UN resident and humanitarian coordinator Luiza Carvalho, laying out the state of dozens of towns and cities three weeks after they were ravaged by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: “Haiyan”).

“There are many needs in the aftermath of the typhoon and we require support to be able to put people back on their feet. Families require safety, shelter and work to sustain a decent life,” she added.

Donors deliver
The spokesperson for the local UN office, Orla Fagan, told a news conference donors had forked out $164 million, or just under half of the initial UN humanitarian appeal for $301 million.

The earlier appeal was launched on Nov. 12, four days after Yolanda unleashed powerful 315-kilometer-per-hour winds and giant storm surges in the central Philippines.

At least 5,598 were killed and 1,759 others are missing, mainly in the predominantly poor islands of Samar and Leyte, according to a government tally.

Yolanda disrupted the lives of 14 million people in an area about the size of Portugal and wrecked 1.1 million houses, so “$10 a head” in aid would not be enough, Fagan said.

UN relief agencies are to draw up specific aid requirements in mid-December when they come up with a “strategic action plan” for the next 12 months that would be implemented side by side with the government’s own efforts, Fagan said.

Jobs for victims
Simon Hills, country disaster response officer for the International Labor Organization (ILO), said 5.6 million people had lost their means of livelihood, some of them permanently.

While many were fishermen and farmers, more than a million were drivers, maids and security guards, he said.

Hills said the ILO and the labor department had found temporary work for 17,000 people clearing typhoon debris, and building temporary homes for the displaced and levees to prevent future flooding.
Farmers need urgent help in procuring seeds, fertilizer and tools, otherwise they will not be able to plant rice and could go hungry next year, the UN statement said.

Fagan said temporary building materials such as tarpaulin sheets were being given to families to relieve pressure on evacuation centers, which now shelter 219,000 people according to the government.

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Pacquiao-Rios Fight: Live! for Yolanda Survivors

According to Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), they would set up a livestream broadcast of Pacquiao Rios Fight for the typhoon Survivors on Sunday, November 23, 2013 in Tacloban City. Three giant TV Screens are to be put up in 3 locations: at the airport, the city hall, and at the Tacloban City Astrodome.

Although Electricity and telecommunication lines are still down, it didn't stop them from coordinating with the telecommunication companies to access the satellite and allow "collective feed" in order to successfully bring in Pacquiao's Fight to continue uplifting their spirit.

Pacman previously said he was dedicating his fight to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda when he enters the ring on Saturday Nov. 23 at 9 p.m. EST from the Venetian Macao in Macau, China. This is going to be a crucial fight for Pacquiao having suffered two straight defeats for the first time. He wouldn't also want to disappoint his Yolanda Survivor fans waiting for him to wave the Philippine Flag at the end of the fight. It could be the end of the boxing career of our "Pambansang Kamao" if he ends up with misfortune.

A delayed telecast will be available through GMA 7 at 10:00AM and the actual fight at 11:00AM. You can also follow the live updates and results on this site: http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/11/23/5134542/pacquiao-vs-rios-results-live-updates-of-undercard-and-main-event

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