They just need to be heard – loudly that is.
Four years has passed and still the problems that was
brought about by the destruction of the Super Typhoon Yolanda ( International
name Haiyan) continues to hound not just the previous administration but the
former president himself – Benigno Simeon Aquino III.
A lightning rally was staged by a handful of protesters
claiming to be Yolanda survivors near the house of the former President earlier
this week. *
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| Yolanda survivors who tried to throw mud at the residence of former Pres. Benigno Aquino (photo credit to CNN Phils) |
Few members of Eastern Visayas disaster-survivor group
People Surge demanded former President Aquino be held accountable for supposed
abuses and negligence by his administration.
The protesters covered in mud, attempted to throw dirt at
his house along Times street, Quezon City.However the security personnel of the
subdivision closed the newly constructed gate located near the Aquino
residence.
Typhoon Yolanda killed more than 6,000 people, and the
president then was Noynoy Aquino.
"Dahil sa walang kwentang plano ng rehabilitasyon,
nandito kami para singilin, ulit ulit naming sisingilin hanggat pumupunta
kami dito sa National Capital Region," said People Surge Secretary General
Marissa Cabaljao.
"Hindi namin makakalimutan ang lugar na tinitirhan ng
nakaraang pangulong Noynoy Aquino, at sisingilin namin sya, gaya ng hindi namin
paglimot sa experiensya namin ng Bagyong Yolanda," Cabaljao added.
The People Surge alleges that the Aquino administration made
it a priority to fund infrastructure projects that benifitted businesses
instead of delivering the basic needs and aid for the fast rehabilitation of
all the Yolanda-hit areas.
The
P7.95-billion Leyte Tide Embankment project was cited by the group, the 23-kilometer seawall that the Public Works and
Highways Department says "will serve as first line of defence against
rising seas" in Tacloban, Palo, and Tanauan towns.
People Surge
said the project will benefit the tourism industry, rather than protect
residents. *
The group
also slammed the "substandard quality of relocation sites" constructed
by the Aquino government.
IBON Foundation, a research firm said last year that only 25 percent or 50,891 of the 205,128
planned houses for Yolanda victims were built.
According to
the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Coordinating Council, 6,300 died and
1,062 went missing in the aftermath of Yolanda in 2013. Cost of damage was
around P95.5 billion.
Report from CNN Phils
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