Philippines Disaster Relief - Progress Report January 2009

8/13/2019 Philippines Disaster Relief - Progress Report January 2009

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The City of Iloilo, Philippines which was tre-mendously affected by Typhoon Frank(Fengshen as its international codename)last June 2008, has started to recover gradu-ally from its normal state prior to disaster.

The city government has undertaken deliber-ate immediate actions, with strong supportfrom national government, business sector,various civil society organizations and thewhole Ilonggos community took their respec-tive complementary roles/part, to revive thecity, particularly the economic activities.

In line of its thrust to provide immediate in-tervention to disaster-stricken area, theHPFPI and PACSII, together with the two ur-ban poor federations in Iloilo City that com-prised the Iloilo City Urban Poor Network(ICUPN) have facilitated the construction oftransit houses and the provision of housingmaterials assistance for the Typhoon af-fected families.

Some affected families who stayed for al-most three months in the evacuation cen-ters, such as in churches, gyms, school, multi-purpose hall, returned to their respectiveoriginal places which is still considered as

high risk areas. While 58 households opted to avail the social-

ized housing program of the city government and have alreadyoccupied the transitory housing units built in the 16.2 hectaresrelocation site provided by the city for those families affected bythe Iloilo Flood Control Project (IFCP) as originally planned buthas accommodated later those affected by the typhoon.

Five months after the disaster, however, the HPFPI, and ICUPNin its continued community visits and consultations with theurban poor communities, found out that there were significantnumber of urban poor who failed to have access to relief goods,social services and other assistance because they are far from

the city and chose to stay in their house during the heavy ty-phoon. Many of them could hardly repair their damaged struc-tures because of lack of finance to do so.

It is in this context that HPFPI and ICUPN have undertakendecisive steps to provide basic housing materials assistance inthe form of a loan, worth P5,000 per family-beneficiary, target-ing 200 families in total. This project aims to support individualfamilies through community associations to reconstruct/repairtheir houses. It is being sponsored by the Misereor (Germany-based donor, Slum Dwellers International (SDI) and the Jersey

Overseas Aid (UK-based NGO) .

Context

HPFPI - PACSII Philippines

January 2009 A short documentation of the Homeless Peoples Federation Philippines, Inc.

Disaster Interventions toTyphoon Frank Affected Families

An applicant with ruined kitchen in the background as a result of Typhoon Frank.She cooked food for the family in her mothers house for the meantime .

Community visit to Hamungaya community a remote-resettlement which was greatly affected by Typhoon Frank.


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Housing Materials ssistance

After long discussions, the HPFPIand the ICUPN, as implementingagencies, have decided to utilizethe fund in the form of housingmaterials loan, rather than agrant, purposely to revolve thefund to benefit other communitieswhich are also in need. Each fam-ily is entitled to have a maximumloan of P5,000.00 worth of hous-ing materials. The loan is payablewithin 12 months with corre-sponding interest which will go tothe Association as incentive. La-bor component shall be the coun-

terpart of the applicant.

Application will be coursedthrough the Association for amore organized and manageable

distribution of materials inthe local area. Identificationand prioritization of quali-fied applicants will be doneby the Association as livingproof that they are indeedaffected by the typhoon 5months ago. It will be supported by certification from any local govern-ment units such as the barangay, Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office(ICUPAO) and City Social Welfare Development Office (CSWDO). TheNetwork, on the other hand, has been conducting house-to-house visitand photo documentation as part of their cross-validation process.

This undertaking also aimed at building and empowering communitiesand Networks capacities in financial, procurement, management andleadership skills. A team (Typhoon Frank Team as it is called) , consistof HPFPI and new ICUPN representatives, was created to assist the po-tential communities in the process and project monitoring. The imple-menting agencies are currently undertaking community orientation andparticipatory planning with target communities.

Seven urban poor associations, or 260 appli-cants/families, from different citys relocationsites have applied to avail the housing materi-als assistance from the Network. However, only200 families will be accommodated at the mo-ment, considering the availability of fund. Thus,the Network needs to prioritise them as to whoreally have urgent need for house repair, usingthe results from the validation.

The fol-lowing isthe list ofcommu-

nitiesandnumberof fami-lies ap-plying forthe ma-terialassis-tance.

Relocatees from each resettle-ment area have its own story

to tell. They were victims ofeviction as a result of mega-infrastructure development(like the Iloilo Flood ControlProject, Megaworld Devel-oper), natural and man-madecalamities, demolished fromprivate property, road ease-ment and high-risk areas. Thecity government has an annualallocation of 5% of its totalrevenue for land acquisition to address the issue of securityof land tenure in the city.

For instance, the Lanit Relocation Site, with 200 familiesevicted from a private property, have been occupying theland for 11 years now. During flashflood, according to onecommunity member in an interview, water level havereached to the rooftop (of a one storey house) and peoplewere stocked there in two days. Until now, access road go-ing to the site is still being negotiated. It took them one hourtravel from this area to the city.

Participating Communities

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION:

1. Has security of land tenure or living in high-risk areas affected by Typhoon Frank

2. Active member of the association

3. Identified/Certified partially or totally dam-aged structure by the LGU/Iloilo City Ur-ban Poor Office (ICUPAO)

4. Preference shall be given to member-Urban Poor Organisation

5. Has the willingness to repay

6. Willing to perform community savings

Name of Commu-nity

of Fami-lies

Megaworld 80

Lanit 27

Banuyao 42

Bitoon 11

SILANA 32

COSHENA 43

Hamungaya 25

TOTAL 260

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Team members review the applicants form and requirements.


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Community Participation and Process

Peoples participation in this undertaking canbe seen not merely in the application but allthroughout the process. Together with the

Team, they are the ones who identify, priori-tise and finalise the materials they needed forhousing repair. Total cost of proposed hous-ing materials should be within the P5,000maximum loan. Communities associationsrole in the pre-screening of applicants is alsocrucial in terms of identifying who are really inneed.

The Team tries to establish the procurementprocess at the community level by involving

the people in the quotation, purchasing, ordering, releasing and recording ofordered materials. This community-based procurement process has beenadopted by the Network, with first hand experience from Community LedInfrastructure Finance Facility (CLIFF) which is currently being implementedalso in Iloilo City.

Community savings is also being induced in every aspirant community purposely to build communities finan-cial capacity and management. To start with, individual repayment through the Association will be treated assavings until his/her loan is fully paid. Repayment will start a month after full delivery of materials to everycommunity. Savings will be used as a strategy for people to appreciate the value of savings and eventuallyadopt it as a way of life. Actually, some of these communities have already started their community savings

way back years ago and they just need revival.

Two local associations, SILANA and COSHENA, or 75 families have been receiving their housing materialsbased on the individual order. Recently, some of them started to repair their houses as proposed. The Teamconducted a project evaluation/assessment highlighting their experiences and learnings with the communi-ties as the project implementation occurs. Learnings were well-noted and taken into consideration for thenext communities to avail.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Duly accomplished loanapplication form from ICUPN

2. Certificate of good membershipstanding signed by the UrbanPoor Organizations Presidentand Secretary

3. Background check, interviewand attendance duringcommunity orientation

4. Certification from the Barangay,City Social Welfare andDevelopment Office (CSWDO),ICUPAO as proof that he/shewas Typhoon Frank affectedfamily.

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TERMS and CONDITIONS:

1. Loanable amount is P5,000 per familybeneficiary

2. Interest rates and payments options:

For 7- 12 months 6% per annum

For 4- 6 months 3% per annum

3. Payments shall be remitted daily to the Associations Treasurer

4. Delay in payments and non-paymentsshall be met out with correspondingpenalties

5. Loan shall be in the form of housing/roofing materials assistance.

6. Housing materials should be usedsolely for housing repair/reconstruction. Cash equivalent ofhousing materials is not allowed/strictlyprohibited.

SILANA and COSHENA members take the lead in the procurement and distributuion of housing materials.


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Procurement process for the transitory housing initiativewas also replicated from CLIFF experiences. The Alliance

wanted to institutionalize community-based procurementprocess in all its initiatives/projects so as to establishtransparency and sense of accountability at the grass-roots level.

This undertaking spearheaded by the Homeless PeoplesFederation Philippines, Inc. (HPFPI) and the PhilippineAction for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc. (PACSII)or Alliance as it is known, with collaborative effort of theIloilo City Urban Poor Network (ICUPN) and the Iloilo Citygovernment., and being supported by the Jersey OverseasAid (UK-based NGO)..The provision of transitory housing for the typhoon af-fected families was conceived and replicated from theHPFPIs successful experience in Guinsaugon, SouthernLeyte wherein transit houses were also constructed in2006 for the mudslide affected families.

Sixty-two (62) units of transit houses were built for thehomeless families affected by Typhoon Frank. Thereare 58 households, comprised of 67 families or 293individuals, benefitting in the same structure . They

came from 9 different barangays of Iloilo City that wasgreatly affected by the typhoon, mainly from District ofJaro. Of the 62, 58 units have been occupied forsleeping purposes while 4 units were intended for chil-drens learning/study center and community meetinghall. Affected families who have been staying in theevacuation center for almost three months have finallytransferred to their temporary shelter last September24, 2008.

An adhoc committee was formed purposely to screen/select qualified applicants for the transit housing.

Representatives from ICUPN actively participate in theprocess. The committee is also seen as a venue by theNetwork to discuss and address concerns on doubleavailment of citys socialized housing program throughcross-validation and counterchecking of potentialhousing beneficiaries from different housing programs.and influence policies and management style that iscommunity-led and participatory process.

There was a change in the citys resettlement plan asto who will be accommodated in the 16.2 hectaresresettlement land by the city government. This will notbe only the land for the IFCP-affected families but alsofor the typhoon frank affected families. The City Mayorhas declared to accommodate the typhoon affectedfamilies in the same resettlement area, provided theywill be included in any of the different housing pack-ages such as from Gawad Kalinga (450 units); Depart-ment of Social Welfare and Development Office (500units); Philippine National Red Cross ( 750 units) andthe Community-Led Infrastructure Finance Facility(CLIFF) Phase II (172 units). Except from CLIFF PhaseII, the housing programs from various organizationsstated above are given for-free or grant but peoplesparticipation is limited only to sweat/labor equity. Onthe other hand, CLIFF housing project is a loan given toIFCP affected families and is undertaking community-led process.

The occupants (58 HHs) in the transit houses are actu-ally the first batch of Gawad Kalingas housing benefi-ciaries. They will temporarily stay in this structure untilsuch time their permanent houses are constructed inthe same site. After then, a new batch of qualifiedbeneficiaries will move in to the transit houses untilthe target beneficiaries for all housing programs arecompleted or until the structure lasts.

Provision of Transitory Housing for the Homeless

Project Status

SUMMARY OF PROJECT DETAILS

Total No. of Transit Houses 62 units

No. of Occupied Units 58 units

No. of Units for Community Center/Study Area 4 units

Total No. of HouseholdsBenefitted

58 HH or67 families

Total No. of IndividualsBenefitted 293 individuals

Total No. of BarangaysAccommodated 9 Barangays (villages)

Proposed Cost per Unit P27,500.00

Actual Cost per UnitP20,000.00

(materials & labor)

Total Project Cost P1,240,000.00

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Each unit of rowhouse-type transit house has a totalfloor area of 18.2 square meters, in which one house-hold occupies for sleeping purposes only. Householdchores and activities like cooking, washing, dining,bathing and among others can be done in the com-munal facilities/area (15 meters away from the tran-sit housing) which the city government has provided.

It is also significant to mention that actual cost perunit of transitory housing (materials and labor costs)is only P20,000 against the proposed budget per unitwhich is P27,500 . There is a savings of P7,500 perunit because some housing materials were donationsfrom and additional laborers were provided by the citygovernment. The construction works of 62 unitslasted for 2 months.

Apart from providing land for resettlement, minimumsite development and labor component are the twomajor roles of the city government in coordinationwith the national government.

As stated in the proposal, the minimum site develop-ment/communal facilities that have materialized wereas follows:

Additional landfilling on site and ongoingland compaction

Provision of:

a. electrical power supply which is connected to the barangays streetlight

b. open canal as drainage systemc. water supply by setting-up a water tank

connected to shallow well with handpumps.

Construction of:

a. 20 units of comfort roomb. 10 units of bath roomc. Communal kitchen and dining area

As to the labor component, the city governmentthrough the City Mayors Office employed 11 construc-tion workers to augment to HPFPIs labor force in or-der to speed up the construction. Volunteers from dif-ferent agencies and network like the Department ofTrade and Industry (DTI), ICUPAO and ICUPN membercommunities were mobilized, using the Food forWork as a strategy.

Citys Counterpart

Originally, we only target for 50 units of transithouses to accommodate those who are

homeless after Typhoon Frank. However, ourCity Mayor Jerry Treas asked for additional

units to accommodate all families still stayingin the evacuation center for almost threemonths. He gave 500 pieces of cement

boards, which we used as indoor partitionwalls in the transit houses.

- Sonia F. CadornigaraHPFPI Visayas Coordinator

The Transit House

A single unit of a transit house

WATER SUPPLY

COMMUNITY GARDEN

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Post Relocation ctivities

We are very grateful to our civil society organizations like the Homeless Peoples and PACSII for

responding to our call on disaster intervention, particularly on Typhoon Frank. Providing temporary shel-ter to our homeless constituents is a very good idea. This is a big help to the city! Our city governmenttried its best to complete the construction of the communal facilities to address the many concerns of

relocatees,- Rony H. Firmeza

ChairpersonIloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office

Provision of Transitory Housing for the Homeless

Photo (L): COMMUNITY GARDEN: Vacant lot is temporar-ily being utilized for vegetation and gardening of oc-cupants. Seedlings are being provided by the CityAgriculture Office. This is one source of livelihood/food of the occupants in their new community.

Photos (R): CLEANLINESS & MAINTENANCE: Cleaners areassigned everyday to keep the communal facilitiesalways clean as much as possible.

SOURCE OF LIVELIHOOD: Transit houses are not onlyfor sleeping purposes, but also to earn a living. Sari-sari or mini-grocery store are prevalent in the site.

BATHROOM

KITCHEN & DINING AREA

COMMUNITY SAVINGS orientation with the transit hous-ing occupants have already conducted.

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Documents

Philippines Disaster Relief - Progress Report January 2009