But in a temporary shelter in Tacloban City, Yolanda survivors waited for President Benigno Aquino III’s words on how government is helping them recover from the disaster almost two years after it happened.
An hour passes and Aquino eventually mentions Typhoon Yolanda – but only in passing while talking about the armed forces’ disaster response capabilities.
Survivor Mila Milado is disappointed. She lost her 6-year-old daughter in the storm surge caused by Yolanda.
She said, “Magalit man, wala akong magagawa. Mahirap lang.”
Mila’s husband, Pedro, still in pain from their loss, feels neglected by the government and its leaving them to their misery.
He said, “Nadelay naman ang tulong dito sa Tacloban. Kung hindi dahil sa ibang bansa, hindi gaano natutulungan ang Tacloban. Tapos, sasabihin niya do’n sa speech na yung nangyari sa Yolanda na kalamidad e naka-respond siya kaagad, hindi naman un. Hindi yun totoo.”
The National Housing Authority is supposed to build some 14,000 relocation houses for Yolanda survivors in Tacloban City alone.
But in its own report, the agency shows it only built a little more than 2,000 homes.
The survivors want the president to explain where exactly the billions of government funds and private donations go.
Families whose houses were destroyed by Yolanda were supposed to get P30,000 each, part of the Emergency Shelter Assistance Fund, but until today, just half of the P8.5 billion budget has reached beneficiaries.
Across Tacloban City, some 400 activists protested against the government’s slow rehabilitation efforts.
