• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
With more than 600 houses totally destroyed by Typhoon Tino in the 4th District of Negros Occidental, as reported by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer sought the relocation of the internally displaced families who were previously residing in hazard areas.
Ferrer said during a media interview that he was urging the local chief executives within his district to find a parcel of land where these severely affected families can be permanently relocated.
“We have faced our siblings in evacuation centers as well as the LGUs. I also want to thank those who helped. But this is just a band-aid solution, because they are still in evacuation sites, they cannot afford to go home, and some of them have no shelters to return to,” the solon expressed.
“I talked to the LGUs to find a relocation site to relocate these affected families,” he added.
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II has urged all localities to avoid structures and houses being built in the hazard areas within the province, and called to stop what he describes as the “environmental abuses” that cause severe flooding.
“Climate change is now inevitable, and storms are now getting stronger; we really have to think and act fast. Our hazard areas must not be inhabited, and structures should not be built there. Because if we allow that, destructive waters and lahar flows will be an unending problem,” he said.
Diaz also expressed his concern regarding the houses situated in the hazard-prone areas as he appealed to the residents to not return to their houses anymore and prioritize their safety.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has issued hazard maps to the province and LGUs that served as a basis and guide as to where structures and houses should not be built.
“We should listen to this science-based data. Let us stop environmental abuses, those that are being done without legal authority. Things like this led to human casualties and a lot of destruction to land and properties,” Diaz stressed, raising the possibility that flash floods were caused by illegal activities on the upstream portion of the province.*
