Disasters

MANILA, Philippines – Thinking of getting some documents from the civil registry of the Manila City Hall? Keep your fingers crossed and a blow dryer handy.

AS the government clears the debris generated by Typhoon Ondoy, the Philippines’ financial sector is beginning to see the extent of the damage on their balance sheet.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) revealed yesterday that initial claims for losses related to tropical storm “Ondoy” have reached P11 billion.

MANILA, Philippines – Billions of pesos worth of loans are at risk of ending up in default due to the devastation wrought by tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”

MANILA, Philippines – It would take nearly five months for floodwaters in communities around Laguna de Bay to recede even as over a million residents living around the lake continue to be at great risk of more destructive flooding if rains continue, officials warned yesterday.

At least 400,000 squatters blocking key drainage channels of a giant lake on the edge of the Philippine capital need to be uprooted to fix Metro Manila’s flooding crisis, a government official said Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang believes the rehabilitation of Metro Manila and nearby provinces will take several years and billions of pesos. Presidential economic spokesman Gary Olivar said the size of the problem is of national concern as displaced families from calamity-hit areas and those living in flood-prone areas must be permanently relocated.

Customers can expect lower charges, no cut-off notices in their power and water bills as utilities join relief agencies to lessen the damage in calamity-hit communities.

MANILA, Philippines—After receiving dole-outs for more than a week, victims of Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana) in Metro Manila will be given a chance to earn a living.

The handling of the Ondoy disaster is a massive managerial failure. And it does not speak well of a government that has been in power for almost nine years. So you cannot say this government is a novice. The first failure is the failure of information. Pagasa (the weather bureau) didn’t know what was coming.

Zero-waste advocates scored the dumping of 80,000 metric tons of garbage from storm-hit cities even as the Metro Manila Development Authority assures residents of enough suitable sites to prevent a crisis.

Not only will the Arroyo-declared state of calamity be in force for a full year, even after President Arroyo steps out of Malacañang on June 30, 2010, but also warrantless arrests of businessmen will be the practice of the administration if they are caught resorting to overpricing of goods which have a mandated price ceiling.

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the two recent typhoons that hit the country could further dampen economic growth this year. Dennis Arroyo, NEDA-National Planning and Policy Staff director, told reporters that Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth may be cut by 0.2 percentage points to between 0.6 percent and 1.6 percent this…

Vice President Noli de Castro has approved a three-month moratorium on housing-loan payments for Pag-IBIG Fund members to alleviate the borrowers’ burden from recent flooding. “We are heeding the clamor of Pag-IBIG members to alleviate their debt burden in the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy by extending a three months’ moratorium on payment of their amortizations,”…

I had a rather long telephone conversation last Monday with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Peter Favila. He called me up after reading my column “Favila hits the ceiling” which appeared on that day. Favila explained to me where he was coming from when he took a swing at media while briefing President…

MANILA, Philippines – The government’s top housing agency is offering loans to members whose homes were severely damaged during the recent onslaught of tropical storm “Ondoy.”

MANILA, Philippines – Some of the victims displaced by tropical storm “Ondoy” have developed a fear of water, hampering efforts to get them back to their residences, an official of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Administration and opposition congressmen approved last Monday night a measure that provides financial relief to victims of tropical storm “Ondoy” through the suspension for 90 days of payments for government loans.

MANILA, Philippines – Resistance to the government imposition of price ceilings on basic commodities has turned violent with Trade Secretary Peter Favila receiving threats and some of his personnel being harassed by angry traders and merchants.

rendered idle and put to waste because of neglect following the transfer of flood control from the public works department to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). The idle equipment could have mitigated the deluge brought about by tropical storm Ondoy in Metro Manila.

Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday hit at militant party-list lawmakers who have been criticizing the government for its alleged slow action to help the victims of Tropical Storm “Ondoy” and Typhoon “Pepeng,” saying they should stop blaming the administration and instead help out in the efforts to provide relief to those affected by the calamity.

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) Victims hardest hit by typhoon Ondoy who lost their income and livelihood will be given “short-term and emergency wage employment” of at least 15 days to help them rebuild their lives, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines – Members of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) are set to mount a rally in the next few days to pressure the government into extending immediate financial assistance, not loans, to typhoon-affected workers.

MANILA, Philippines – At least 5,000 workers face unemployment after typhoon “Ondoy” forced several factories in Metro Manila and nearby provinces to close down, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Business groups have expressed alarm over Malacañang’s plan to extend its declaration of a state of calamity for at least a year, with one calling it “an overkill.” The groups said the plan, if carried out, would spawn more problems like job losses and supply shortage.

MANILA, Philippines – Price controls may remain until 2010 and government is expected to have a firmer hand in rebuilding areas ravaged by “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” as Malacañang considers extending its declaration of a nationwide state of calamity for at least one year.

QUEZON, Philippines, 25 April 2005 – While the world’s attention has been focused on the Indian Ocean tsunami, tens of thousands in the Philippines have been dealing with the aftermath of another natural disaster that has gone largely unnoticed. In December 2004 three typhoons hit the South Eastern province of Quezon, killing more than 2,000…

“Presidentiables” made news doling relief goods plastered with their names and photos. The self-publicity was cheap. They used Storm Ondoy’s floods to make victims owe them debts of gratitude for “kindness”, translatable into votes. Observers had to advise that the hungry accept the aid but reject the abusers. Some called for filing of electioneering charges.…

Initially, I didn’t know where Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila was coming from when he griped against media reportage on the post-typhoon Ondoy situation. An impassioned Favila could not hide his irritation when he took a swing at media while briefing President Arroyo and other Cabinet members during the National Disaster Coordinating…

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo has ordered the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS) to speed up the processing and release of loan applications of their distressed members.