TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is seeking P1.62 billion additional funds to rehabilitate government infrastructure destroyed by supertyphoon Yolanda.
Speaking in the recent transparency forum organized by the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College and Asia Foundation, DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson said they have pending request at the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for additional funding in reconstruction activities this year.
Of the P1.62 billion budget request, P583 million will be for repair of seawalls, drainage system, and flood control; P321 million reconstruction of damaged roads and bridges; and P221 million for rehabilitation of DPWH buildings.
“There is ongoing cost review for the remaining P491 million proposed budget,” Singson said.
The fresh budget request is expected to augment the P732 million released earlier by the DBM for clearing and emergency repair of roads and bridges.
The DPWH also utilized the initial release for the construction of 250 bunkhouses worth P200 million, procurement of 120,000 pieces of galvanized iron (GI) sheets, which were distributed through the Department of Social Welfare and Development for 7,500 families.
About 97,000 GI sheets are now in DPWH warehouses to be distributed to families with partially damaged houses in the next few months. Some 113,000 GI sheets were earlier purchased for destroyed classrooms in Yolanda-hit areas.
Singson said initial damage is pegged at P4.2 billion for the 5,540 government structures assessed. “These include roads and bridges, local government buildings, schools, and rural health units.”
In the case of classrooms, Singson said their office and the Department of Education agreed to come with a new design in rehabilitating the classrooms.
“Each school building will cost nearly P1 million. It can withstand 260 kilometer per hour wind force. Our agreement is that DepEd will implement the reconstruction, not the DPWH,” he added.
Singson said that P7.7 billion is required to reconstruct all damaged classrooms.
For state universities and colleges, the DPWH chief said the Commission on Higher Education is seeking P1.73 billion to repair the damaged buildings.
For damaged city halls, town halls and public markets, the Department of Interior and Local Government and DPWH will come up with standard design and costing.
“We will introduce standard design for LGU buildings, but if the LGU has capacity to expand, it can be extended. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)

TACLOBAN CITY- An Australian-based organization donated 5,000 books to different colleges and universities in Leyte during a simple turn over rites held on March 20.
The turn-over of these books was held at the University of the Philippines-Tacloban Campus and with the acting minister counselor of the Australian Aid, Geoff King, in attendance.
King said that the support from the Australian government reflects their commitment to help Filipino children have access to quality education.
“These books from Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program complement Australia’s assistance to Tacloban schools,” he said.
In the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda, Australian government provided immediate support for repairs of schools in Leyte by sending Australian engineers and military service personnel to help in clearing and repair operations, King added.
“We hope that new books and better classrooms will inspire students to learn while having fun and to study harder,” the Australian officer said.
The 14 school beneficiaries were the Doña Remedios Trinidad Medical Foundation, UP Manila School of Sciences, Leyte Colleges, Holy Infant College, St. Scholastica College of Health and Sciences, Visayas State University in Baybay, Tolosa, and Alangalang; the Leyte Normal University, University of the Philippines in the Visayas Tacloban College, Eastern Visayas State University- Tacloban, Tanuan, Dulag, Burauen campuses and the Asian Development Foundation College.
Each school received six boxes of books with each box containing 50 books.
The project was a collaboration of The Asia Foundation through its Books for Asia program and the Australian Aid. (LIZBETH ANN ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) here in the region stressed that there is still strict regulations being implemented in using chainsaws even if these tools came from humanitarian groups intended for the rehabilitation efforts after supertyphoon Yolanda.
Aside from the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), there are still other international non-government organizations that also donates chainsaws reason why the PCA needs to trace all these tools to ensure responsible usage, said Thelma Remedio, officer-in-charge of the PCA province office.
Remedio stressed that only headless, uprooted and damaged trees can be utilized for lumber without the approval from PCA while a moratorium in cutting live trees is in effect to ensure that restoration of the coconut industry in the region will never be supplanted by mindlessly cutting trees for lumber or commercial purposes.
All chainsaw units should be registered first at their office together with the donor group serving as the saw owner/ operator.
“It is not expensive to acquire these permits, considering the nature of business which is humanitarian and non-profit, the NGO simply has to pay P1,000 to accredit their group and they can then travel the lumbers at any destination in the country; while they have to add P1,000 more for each chainsaw unit to register it,” Remedio explained.
The PCA had earlier disclosed that more than 33 million coconut trees were totally damaged due to Yolanda with a value of P16 billion.
To rehabilitate present plantations and restore local coconut industry, PCA then tapped universities to grow 500,000 seedlings (tumos in local term) with Visayas State University growing 400 of the said figure, 50,000 from Southern Leyte State University and 40 more from University of Eastern Philippines. (REGIN OLIMBERIO, Commuunitere)