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Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman said her agency has responded to a Commission on Audit (COA) report stating that they had shortcomings in distributing aid to victims of Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan).
Soliman denied the claim that around PHP300 million in cash donations have yet to be distributed to typhoon victims. She said 85% of this amount has been disbursed.
She said more than P60 million remains in the bank, but added that these have already been allocated to various livelihood programs.
“Hinanap namin yun sa COA report, wala ho kaming nakitang katagang epic failure. Hindi ko ho alam kung saan nanggaling yun,” Soliman said.
Meanwhile, United Nations Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction Margareta Wahlstrom visited areas that were badly hit by “Yolanda.”
She met with the mayors of Javier, Tanauan, Palo at Tacloban and spoke with Yolanda survivors in transitional shelters in Tacloban.
“It’s the permanent housing that requires land, water and electricity. So that’s complicated. But we can see a lot of progress,” she said.
In Tacloban City, more than 70,000 families need to be moved to resettlement sites, but there is a problem with water supply in these areas.
Thus, Mayor Alfred Romualdez said, “Pinapaabot ko sana kay presidente total tinutulak naman niya ang mga PPP, this is the perfect time now to have public private partnership, to address our water issue here.”
Soliman also said that they are working with other government agencies to solve problems with water supply.
Photo: Dinly Soliman (Twitter)
This article has been re-published with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com.
