Leyte Landslide

[omad]

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so we'll also just forget about what happened?

only in the Philippines..

[FK]

nope dili ingon nga kalimtan... dapat d i i-media/news permi para motabang?

[omad]

nope dili ingon nga kalimtan... dapat d i i-media/news permi para motabang?

not necessarily, but the media can still play a major role in letting the public know that all donations/logistics from local as well as from international entities are all accounted for and have reached the intended recipients which are the victims of the tragedy. i know for sure that YOU won't let this type of complacency slide.. or do you?

[FK]

not necessarily, but the media can still play a major role in letting the public know that all donations/logistics from local as well as from international entities are all accounted for and have reached the intended recipients which are the victims of the tragedy. i know for sure that YOU won't let this type of complacency slide.. or do you?

yup they should... and I assume since their was no news that all donations are going no where. And I expect that when an issues pops out regarding donations misappropriated then it will reach us. I hope.
When goods are lacking they should report it.

[omad]

that's why i'm also critical about the media. the aftermath of the tragedy should have equal billing on the news specially the proper distribution of donated goods and services. they should have the LGU in charge of the whole operation held accountable to the very last cent. imagine the victims getting hungry but the donated goods intended for them just sits idly in one of the politicos warehouses just waiting for the next election campaign. I'm sick to my stomach just thinking about this very plausible scenario.

it's not that I don't trust them but sad to say that something weird always happens along the way, specially in the Philippines.

[FK]

they should have the LGU in charge of the whole operation held accountable to the very last cent. imagine the victims getting hungry but the donated goods intended for them just sits idly in one of the politicos warehouses just waiting for the next election campaign. I'm sick to my stomach just thinking about this very plausible scenario.

i'm with you... when this thinkgs indeed happen but was not reported, then that would be very bad.

[eelssej_]

so we'll also just forget about what happened?

only in the Philippines..

grabe pud oi...

i think, ok ra pud kung dili na pangitaon... pero naa man dyud na mga families na pangitaon dyud ang lawas...

and maybe, it's better for the gov't to find the victim's relocation to start a new life again..

[omad]

my fears came true as far as survivors not receiving all the pledges and donations after the tragedy.. i know it's long but please have patience and read this story:

Guinsaugon mudslide survivors asks for help
By PINOY GONZALES / PNS
March 17, 2006

In every activity such as charitable activism, opportunism always follows. And that seems to be the case with the victims and evacuees of the massive Guinsaugon mudslide in the remote coastal town of St. Bernard in Southern Leyte.

Three weeks ago after the horrible natural tragedy that left 103 dead and 973 missing, the world responded to help the 18 survivors and the nearly 300 Guinsaugon evacuees who were either in the mountains working, in the town's schools for their studies or were in the town proper some 4 kilometers from their village to attend to some errands.

Help came in the form of emergency response, then disaster relief activities followed by financial contributions and pledges made from around the Philippines and the world.

But all these has yet to make an impact to the lives of those left behind who has yet to feel a sense of normalcy in their lives because of the slow flow of assistance given them by so-called NGOs who were given the task to channel whatever help sent by Filipino organizations aboard.

When the PNS visited 7 of the 18 survivors together with the remaining members of their family in a day care center, separated from the other evacuees who were billeted in the Franciscan run school Rey Cristo, this writer found them lying in mats spread over several plywoods with limited food mostly sardines and noodles stock in a small sack.

Irenea Velasco who has the most recognizable face because of her several exposure with the international and national TV news media, started to tell her story with tears in her eyes reliving what had happened during that fateful Friday morning when she lost several family members and everything they had in a rather unsuspecting normal day.

But her mourning face turned a little lighter saying "our prayers that the media would return from Manila were answered." We feel we are being used by others for their own gain. But then we have yet to feel and received the several millions of pesos and dollars benevolent donor countries and individual around the world sent to groups promising to help us," she said in visayan dialect.

"We are not asking for money, we know how to work, all we want is a bit of normalcy where we can rest in our own homes, mourn our dead and reflect on what had happened and move on. Right now our primary concern is our survival, we have no house to go home too, no jobs to supports us, no farmlands to work in and no food in our tables, please relay this message to the President Gloria Arroyo," she continued.

When asked how much financial assistance she has received so far and from whom, she answered, "The Chinese Chamber of Commerce gave P1,000, boxer Manny Paquiao gave P300, LTO gave P2,000 and the Filipino Disaster Relief of Texas gave P400. We thank them all from the bottom of our hearts. I heard President Arroyo gave P5,000 each for us but we the 18 survivors of the mudslide have not received it yet."
full story

important lesson here: if you want to help people in this predicament next time, please hand it out personally. don't entrust your donations with somebody else no matter how pure and genuine their intentions are..

[grabehbebe]

QC donates P5.3 M for new Southern Leyte school building

In times of distress, local government units often look out for each other, even across the miles.

A new school building funded by donations from the Quezon City government and residents will soon rise at St. Bernard town in Southern Leyte to help rebuild lives and ensure a bright future for the children affected by the Feb. 17 mudslide.

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. personally handed to Southern Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias a check amounting to P5.3 million as he conveyed the city government’s and the people of Quezon City’s deepest sympathy to the victims of the tragedy in Barangay Guinsaungon.

"The amount may not be enough, but it manifests our deepest sympathies and brotherly condolence to the Southern Leyte victims," Belmonte told Lerias, who received the financial assistance during a simple ceremony at the QC Hall Bulwagan. The governor was accompanied by her husband, Victor.

Earlier, the city government, through the City Council, enacted a resolution allocating the amount of P5 million for the relief of rehabilitation of the landslide-stricken victims.

Belmonte also raised an additional P1 million from voluntary contributions solicited from City Hall employees, members of the City Council and from the mayor himself.

He described the city’s financial assistance for the construction of school building in Barangay Guinsaungon as "timely and vital" for the survivors, especially the school children.

During the turnover ceremony, the mayor and the governor signed a memorandum of agreement facilitating the construction of a new, two-storey, 12-classroom school building to replace the one buried by landslide in Barangay Guinsaungon. The building is expected to benefit more than 200 schoolchildren affected by the tragedy, as well as those from neighboring communities.

"The donation is intended for school buildings. Relief goods had been overflowing and Mayor Belmonte wanted a lasting donation that would benefit the children," Council Majority Leader Ariel Inton said.

The Quezon City government was the first local government in Metro Manila to initiate a fund-raising campaign for the victims. Commitments from other local governments soon followed.

On Feb. 19, three days after the disaster and while rescue efforts were being carried out, Belmonte led a minute of silent prayer and appealed to Quezon City residents to set aside at least P10 of their money for the victims of the mudslide.

It was not the first time that the city government responded and extended a helping hand to help another local government in distress.

Early last year, when a super typhoon hit Central and Northern Luzon, no less than Belmonte led the relief effort in the devastated towns of Gabaldon and Nueva Ecija and Dingalan town in Aurora province.

The mayor took a break from his hectic schedule to visit the town and distribute relief goods to residents.

Financial assistance was also extended to families of Quezon City residents, who were killed during the Ultra stampede in Pasig last month.

"The city government is always ready to extend a helping hand to local government units in distress. This is part of the commitment of Mayor Belmonte," Inton said.



-----By Perseus Echeminada
The Philippine Star 03/20/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200603206304.htm

[grabehbebe]

NEWS: Geologic hazards threaten 11 Leyte villages
DENR recommends relocation of families

A TEAM of geologists from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has recommended the total relocation of residents in 11 barangays of Southern Leyte for being prone to geologic hazards.

A copy of a geo-hazard assessment report by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau obtained by The Manila Times revealed that six barangays in the municipality of Saint Bernard are at high risk from geo-hazards.

Geo-hazards are geologic dangers like landslides, ground ruptures and ground shaking which pose imminent threat to the residents.

The report identified Barangays Guinsaugon, Hinabian, Magatas, Ayahag, Nueva Esperanza and Sug-angon, all in Saint Bernard, as areas which need to be vacated.

About 801 families comprise the six barangays.
Of the six villages, only Nueva Esperanza has been partially vacated. All families in the other barangays have evacuated.

The report also recommended a change of land use in Guinsaugon, which was devastated by a landslide last month.

Antonio Apostol, officer-in-charge of the Lands Geology Division, told The Manila Times that they recommended the evacuees to keep away from their homes until after the rainy season.

“We advised them not to return to their homes at the moment and wait until such time that the area has stabilized,” he said.

The team also recommended the total relocation of residents in Barangays Catig and Malanza in Liloan; Pamigsian in Bontoc; and Sto. Niño and Sitio Kumagai, Poblacion in Macrohon.

Geology experts found that a mass movement of land and ground shaking in Catig and Malanza. All residents in the areas have evacuated.

In Pamigsian, Bontoc, the department found that the barangay is prone to flash flooding, flooding and mass movement of land.

The families in Pamigsian have not yet transferred but a temporary evacuation site has been set-up for them.

The DENR team also found mass movement of land in Barangays Sto. Niño and Sitio, Kumagai, Poblacion, both in Macrohon. No evacuation has been done there.


-By Mark Ivan Roblas, Reporter http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...60322pro6.html