Temporary-permanent
ONE year ago, super-typhoon Yolanda struck Eastern and Central Visayas leaving an estimated 100,000 families homeless with a conservative estimated loss of 8,000 people caused by the tsunami-like storm surge. The surge was high enough that several interisland ships were lifted inland several meters from the shoreline that even today they cannot be salvaged.
The national government had every opportunity with the full cooperation of the local government units to reconstruct the homes and infrastructure that were destroyed in the shortest possible time in order to normalize the lives of the typhoon victims. I believe that the initial funds that were made available by our government, including the financial and material aid donations of the international community of nations was sufficient to start the rehabilitation of the devastated areas. Regretfully the master plan for the rehabilitation of the typhoon struck areas was approved only last week.
In my youth, I have seen the destruction caused by World War II on the City of Cebu and how the newly installed Philippine Civil Authorities acted and moved after the war that almost destroyed everything – the government, business, educational centers and residential areas of Cebu City. Among the buildings that were destroyed were the City Hall, the Provincial Capitol, the whole downtown district as well as the piers and wharves. One of the many educational institutions that were destroyed was the Colegio de San Carlos building on P. del Rosario street where a Japanese Garrison was stationed.
If only our government officials had the political will to do the right thing even if they might have been unpopular, Cebu City and Manila might have become a completely different city, i. e., with wide straight avenues and boulevards. For Cebu City, we would have had an EDSA like ring road with avenues from the city center moving straight out like spokes of a wheel like Paris. Another possibility would have been to develop our urban areas like chess boards with blocks of streets and avenues like Manhattan Island in New York. Unfortunately again those who were in charge did not have the willpower or expertise. In Cebu some of the members of the “Cebu Planning Board” at that time were land owners. Every time there was a proposal to build, straighten, or widen a road, they would veto the idea because it would slice and diminish their land holdings.
Can you imagine a devastated Manila and Cebu where the rehabilitation-reconstruction planners would just instruct the Public Works Department or request the American Corps of Engineers to drive their bulldozers straight ahead to build new roads or straighten out, widen old roads, regardless of whose property would be affected... The matter of just compensation could be addressed later by the issuance of government bonds.
I wonder if in the devastated areas of Tacloban, Basey, Guiuan, etc., the same policy as the above could have been followed. From what I have seen so far, it may be conceded that some officials are really sincere in their desire for a quick rehabilitation of the areas. However, it would seem that there are also other sectors for reasons best known only to them, that resist the complete relocation of human habitation to areas that would be safe in the event a future super typhoon with the usual storm surge tsunami-like wave. I doubt very much if the newly- constructed nipa and bamboo temporary shelters for Yolanda’s typhoon victims will remain temporary. On the contrary I have reason to believe that those communities will be settled permanently in the present areas. Based on historical events my conclusion is not too farfetched. When I was a young man there was a fire that burned quite a number of squatter houses behind the Jones Avenue PC Headquarters. President Ramon Magsaysay ordered that in the meantime temporary housing quarters be built by the AFP in a Cebu provincial lot which was just beside the old Club Filipino Golf Course (now Ayala Business Center). Well today, Barangay Luz named after Mrs. Magsaysay still exists with all the former squatters from the said fire.