PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Friday that the government would fulfill its promises to survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), as the country commemorated the 11th anniversary of the “strongest typhoon in history.”
“All unfulfilled commitments made in the past for Yolanda rehabilitation are responsibilities we fully assume,” the President said.
“Though no singular fault of anyone, many of these pledges remain unredeemed, and we shall see to it that what the state owed to impacted people and places will be satisfactorily settled,” he added.
HARSH REMINDER Police block protesters commemorating the 11th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda from heading toward Mendiola, near Malacañan Palace, in Manila, on Nov. 8, 2024. They slammed the government’s alleged continued inaction over the plight of the victims. PHOTO BY RENE DILAN
Marcos said the best way to pay tribute to those who perished during the 2013 typhoon was to ensure that past errors would not be repeated.
“Our ongoing crucibles remind us that the powerful lessons brought by the strongest typhoon in history should not be lost with the passage of time. Heeding these is the best way to honor the lives lost,” he said.
Marcos said the government does not have the luxury of ignorance, inaction and complacency as the Philippines is the “most disaster-prone country in the world.”
“Thus, we must intensify our efforts to mitigate and adapt to the challenges of climate change and urgently abate our vulnerability to disasters. We must empower our communities and strengthen our local government units, which both comprise our first line of defense against calamities,” he added.
Learn from the past
Eleven years on, survivors should learn the lessons of Super Typhoon Yolanda to become more resilient as recent disasters are becoming more destructive, officials said on Friday.
Speaking during the commemoration of the killer storm, Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez said the city government would continue to remember the disaster every year.
“There is a reason why we survived the storm. We have a purpose in life, and that is to teach the next generation how to prepare for calamities and disasters,” he told the crowd gathered at the mass grave site in Basper village, where more than 2,000 victims were buried.
The lesson, according to him, is to remember how to prepare for calamities and “not just depend on government with so many people asking for help after a disaster.”
“We must move people out of danger zones. You should cooperate with the government since we’re spending billions every year for rehabilitation and rescue. We must go out there and stay in safer zones,” he said.
Police block protesters commemorating the 11th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda from heading toward Mendiola, near Malacanan Palace, in Manila on Nov. 8, 2024. They slammed the government’s alleged continued inaction over the plight of the victims. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Police block protesters commemorating the 11th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda from heading toward Mendiola, near Malacanan Palace, in Manila on Nov. 8, 2024. They slammed the government’s alleged continued inaction over the plight of the victims. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Police block protesters commemorating the 11th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda from heading toward Mendiola, near Malacanan Palace, in Manila on Nov. 8, 2024. They slammed the government’s alleged continued inaction over the plight of the victims. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Police block protesters commemorating the 11th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda from heading toward Mendiola, near Malacanan Palace, in Manila on Nov. 8, 2024. They slammed the government’s alleged continued inaction over the plight of the victims. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Police block protesters commemorating the 11th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda from heading toward Mendiola, near Malacanan Palace, in Manila on Nov. 8, 2024. They slammed the government’s alleged continued inaction over the plight of the victims. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Police block protesters commemorating the 11th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda from heading toward Mendiola, near Malacanan Palace, in Manila on Nov. 8, 2024. They slammed the government’s alleged continued inaction over the plight of the victims. PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
The 2022 report of the Regional Development Council in Eastern Visayas showed that about 29,422 housing units for victims of Yolanda were already occupied, while 11,266 were ready for occupancy out of the 64,696 target units in six provinces.
City government officials have no available data on housing during the event.
During the commemoration in Palo, Leyte, a nearby town badly damaged by the super typhoon, Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla said people in the province have been learning from Yolanda.
“Now, people are already aware. Whenever there is an upcoming typhoon, they immediately evacuate to a safer place, unlike before, when we must force them. We might not be able to prepare enough, but we need to do everything we can to prepare for any disaster, and that is one thing the people of Leyte really know now,” Petilla said.
In his message, Roman Catholic Church Archbishop John Du, typhoon-hit areas commemorate Yolanda “not because of the typhoon but because of God’s love and care.”
“We celebrate hope and charity. Let us be one. We need to give each other support. Let us be mindful of others. We need to be thoughtful of the needs, especially those who are the least, the last, and the lost,” Du added.
The 11th Commemoration of Super Typhoon Yolanda culminates with a candlelight ceremony at Plaza Rizal, Downtown, Tacloban City on Nov. 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY MOISES CRUZ
The 11th Commemoration of Super Typhoon Yolanda culminates with a candlelight ceremony at Plaza Rizal, Downtown, Tacloban City on Nov. 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY MOISES CRUZ
The 11th Commemoration of Super Typhoon Yolanda culminates with a candlelight ceremony at Plaza Rizal, Downtown, Tacloban City on Nov. 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY MOISES CRUZ
The 11th Commemoration of Super Typhoon Yolanda culminates with a candlelight ceremony at Plaza Rizal, Downtown, Tacloban City on Nov. 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY MOISES CRUZ
The 11th Commemoration of Super Typhoon Yolanda culminates with a candlelight ceremony at Plaza Rizal, Downtown, Tacloban City on Nov. 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY MOISES CRUZ
The 11th Commemoration of Super Typhoon Yolanda culminates with a candlelight ceremony at Plaza Rizal, Downtown, Tacloban City on Nov. 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY MOISES CRUZ
The 11th Commemoration of Super Typhoon Yolanda culminates with a candlelight ceremony at Plaza Rizal, Downtown, Tacloban City on Nov. 8, 2024. PHOTOS BY MOISES CRUZ
Yolanda, said to be the strongest typhoon in world history, struck the central Philippines on Nov. 8, 2013, and wreaked havoc on 175 cities and towns in 14 provinces in six regions. The disaster killed more than 6,000 people.
The total damage cost and losses in affected areas reached P101.79 billion, of which P48.79 billion was recorded in Eastern Visayas.
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