Duterte extends term of task force overseeing Yolanda rehab

PRESIDENT RODRIGO  Duterte has extended the term of the inter-agency task force in charge of monitoring rehabilitation and recovery projects and programs in areas affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda until the end of his presidency.   

Administrative Order No. 33, signed by Duterte on Sept. 16 but released Monday, extends the term of IATF-Yolanda until June 30, 2022 unless earlier terminated by the President. The task force's term expired on Aug. 12 this year.

"The IATF-Yolanda shall be deemed dissolved on 30 June 2022, unless it is sooner terminated by the President," the AO read.

The order recognizes the need to facilitate the completion of Yolanda Permanent Housing Program (YPHP), an integral component of the Yolanda Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (YCRRP).

"Under the Yolanda Permanent Housing Program, which is an integral component of the YCRRP, 129,484 housing units have been completed while 49,112 are undergoing construction and 241 out of the 363 permanent resettlement projects have been energized," the AO read.

The YPHP aims to build houses and create livable, thriving and disaster-resilient communities under a township approach where resettlement sites shall be provided not only with the basic necessities of water and electricity but also with social infrastructures such as daycare centers, health centers and school buildings within or nearby the housing project sites.

The AO also requires the task force to publish a final report on its accomplishments, including projects and programs implemented and the total budget utilized, copy furnished the Office of the President through the Office of the Executive Secretary.

All other provisions of the AO No. 5, which created the task force, remain in full force and effect.

Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), which struck the Philippines on Nov. 8, 2013, is considered one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded.

The typhoon caused massive storm surges that ravaged coastal communities, claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions of people especially in the areas of Eastern Visayas, northern part of Central Visayas, Western Visayas, and northern Palawan. (By Azer Parrocha)