EDITORIAL - No room for complacency - Philippine Star

The government stopped counting the dead a long time ago, so the nation will never know if the toll from Super Typhoon Yolanda actually hit 10,000 as one police official announced. Instead the government has focused on helping people get back on their feet amid the apocalyptic destruction in Leyte and Samar.

Yesterday, survivors marked 100 days since the monster howler unleashed its fury. The international committee, with its impressive response to the disaster, has contributed $300 million so far for the reconstruction, which is estimated to cost $788 million. The amount is on top of the assistance that was sent immediately after the disaster struck. For its part, the government has promised to “build back better” and move faster than its dazed original response, which by most accounts was marred by politics.

The donor community acknowledges that the task is daunting, but certain quarters have indicated that the effort could move faster. As of yesterday, millions of survivors remained in temporary shelters that would be at risk if an off-season storm surge hits the disaster areas. The typhoon season is just about four months away. With the power supply still intermittent in Tacloban, the revival of commercial activity in the city has been slow.

Those involved in the rebuilding effort are making the right noises about imposing no-build zones and designing structures for disaster resilience. Authorities are also supposed to be working on effective emergency alert protocols for storm surges, floods and landslides.

Fishing is being revived, with various groups contributing boats, but the many who depended on coconut plantations for their livelihood need new sources of subsistence. International aid agencies have cited the eagerness of survivors to get on with their lives, but they need a lot of help for this.

The readiness to help is there. What is important is to mobilize the resources, including international assistance, with the same urgency that was manifested when hundreds of bodies were still being pulled out daily from the rubble. As the United Nations observed yesterday, there is no room for complacency.

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