Dear friends and partners,
Yesterday, we posted a report from our Quick Assessment Team in Ormoc City, who will be doing another assessment in Tacloban City.
This morning, we also received another report from our Quick Assessment Team in Panay:
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Mga Kauban,
Here’s our first report:
The Balay Mindanaw Panay Quick Assessment Team arrived in Panay via Iloilo City on November 11. The Island of Panay is composed of the four provinces Iloilo, Antique, Aklan and Capiz.
The first evening was spent meeting key contact persons, namely Bing Sanchez from Iloilo but based in Capiz as Ccordinator of the Center for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (CARRD) and Goldie Chan from Antique who is also a member of the BM Team as he is a member of Board of BBFI, a BMG member. In fact, Goldie facilitated the preparations for the visit.
On the second day, the Team travelled to the disaster-hit areas of Iloilo and Capiz.
Salient Information:
1. The hardest hit areas in Iloilo are the municipalities of Sara, Concepcion and Estancia, all in the northern part of the province. However, the Team also observed substantial damages in the Municipality of Calinog and Passi City.
2. The Province of Capiz sustained the heaviest damage, with all its 16 municapalities and one city hit by Yolanda. Data from the PDRMMC show that the disaster affected 109,812 families with 513,548 individuals in 473 barangays. 42 deaths and 36 injuries have been reported so far.
3. During the entire 13-hour trip, the Team did not see a single relief operation going on nor tent or tarp for temporary shelter being distributed, four days after the disaster.
4. The entire Province of Capiz has no electricity while power in Iloilo is limited to the city and a few other areas. Mobile phone and internet connections are intermittent with many areas still without acces to signal.
5. In Roxas City, the capital of Capiz, the Team was warmly welcomed by Capiz Provincial Governor Victor Tanco, Provincial Board Secretary Zoe Herrera and PDRRMO Speed Pelaez. We explained to them our barangay-focused approached in responding to the disaster with the support of the Federal Republic of Germany thru The Johanniter, the Disaster Aid International, and other partners and donors. The provincial officials readily agreed and expressed appreciation to our possible assistance to the barangays that are still to be identified.
We also observed that Roxas City suffered lesser damages compared to the other municipalities of Capiz.
6. The Team then proceeded to the Municipality of Pres. Roxas, one of the hardest hit coastal areas. We were able to meet Mayor Toto Locsin and the MDRRMO. After explaining to them our approach, the offered Barangays Madulano (250 affected families) and Quiajo (260 affected families). On the way to Pres. Roxas, we observed that the Municipality of Pontevedra also suffered major damages.
7. The priority needs identified are food, water, temporary shelter, and shelter repair or provision of new houses.
Initial Recommendations:
1. We recommend that we initially focus our asssistance to Capiz.
2. Until such time that we are able to identify our focus barangays, we recommend that we undertake a first wave of food packs distribution (1,000 packs) to be divided between Ponteverde and Pres. Roxas. We can tap the VOICE network in Iloilo c/o Ayi and Myrna.
3. We also suggest that we consider the municipality of Estancia in Iloilo as a possible area for assistance.
Salamat!
We Refuse to be Victims, We Choose to Be Resources.