A month after tropical storm Sendong ravaged northern Mindanao and the southern portion of Negros Oriental, former Finance Sec. Gary Teves observed the lack of a national government effort to assess the extent of damage and losses, as well as the economic and social impacts of the storm, which claimed 41 lives and affected 16,250 families in Negros Oriental.
Teves, former chair of the Special National Public Reconstruction Commission created in the aftermath of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009, stressed the urgency of a Post Disaster Needs Assessment to better facilitate international donor financing for recovery and major reconstruction initiatives.
He cites an earlier report from the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Philippines Jacqui Badcock, who said that UN’s “flash appeal” for $28 million had only attracted $7.4 million as of last week.
“There will be no response in a systematic way if foreign donors don’t know what exactly the needs are. But once data from a similar PDNA is made available, they can immediately identify the kind of support that they can provide to the affected areas,” Teves said, noting that a factual basis will aid in planning and managing the resources for their effective implementation.
He recalls that in 2009, more than 150 people from various government agencies, local government units, civil society organizations, the private sector and the academe, were involved in data collection and analysis to assess the impact of the typhoons. Results were out in three weeks and identified rural production, flood management, housing, disaster risk reduction and local governance as the areas meriting particular attention.
“I’m encouraging our local leaders–Gov. Roel Degamo, 1st District Rep. Josy Limkaichong, 2nd District Rep. George Arnaiz, and 3rd District Rep. Henry Teves,- and the concerned mayors to take the lead in conducting a PDNA in our province. If we can organize a team now, we can show our people that the local government has a plan, and that support from the international community is on the way.”
