MANILA – Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman on Tuesday said the people should not be so quick to judge survivors of typhoon "Yolanda" who have resorted to looting in order to survive.
"Ngayon lang naman tayo nagka-disaster na ganito ang naging responde ng mga tao. At para sa akin, unawain natin sila. Hindi nila inakala na ganito ang mangyayari sa kanila," Soliman told dzMM.
She added that sheer magnitude of the devastation brought by the typhoon has forced the hungry and tired survivors to resort to lawlessness.
"[Naiisip siguro nila] 'Bakit nangyari sa akin ito? Galit ako sa lahat, ang akin lang magagawa ay gumawa ng mga pagkilos na ito,'" she said.
Soliman said the most important thing now is that help is coming to the severely battered city of Tacloban in Leyte, and Guiuan in Eastern Samar.
"Ngayon ang pinakamahalagang mangyari, tuloy-tuloy ang bigay ng pagkain, dahil sa aking pagtingin, sa galit, sa frustration, sa sama ng loob, ang mga tao, masyadong heightened ang pangangailangan na ma-assure na sila ay hindi mauubusan," Soliman said, reacting to reports that some survivors were blocking vehicles carrying relief goods.
State of national calamity, curfew
President Benigno Aquino on Monday night declared a state of national calamity following the devastation caused by the typhoon.
The declaration will allow the national government to fast-track delivery of aid and basic services, particularly in typhoon-hit areas in the Visayas.
Around P18.7 billion in government funds can be used to help victims and rebuild communities, Aquino said. Some P1.1 billion in Quick Response Funds were also allotted for the DSWD and the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Over 20 countries, as well as foreign aid organizations and the private sector, are helping in the relief efforts.
To address the crime incidents plaguing badly-hit Tacloban, the Philippine government said Tuesday it had deployed armored vehicles, set up checkpoints and imposed a curfew to help end looting in the city.
Tacloban -- on the central island of Leyte -- bore the brunt of Friday's category-five storm with at least 10,000 people feared to have died there, according to the United Nations.
The devastated provincial capital -- a city of 220,000 residents -- has also seen some of the worst pillaging. Famished survivors desperate for food and medical supplies have ransacked aid convoys, hampering relief efforts.
Survivors have reported gangs stealing consumer goods including televisions and washing machines from small businesses.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said four Simba armored personnel carriers had been deployed to contain looting and help restore law and order, a day after hundreds of Philippine soldiers and police were sent to the city.
"We are circulating them (the Simbas) in the city to show the people, especially those with bad intentions, that the authorities have returned," Roxas told DZMM radio.
Checkpoints have been set up to stop people from mobbing relief trucks, he said.
Many resorted to looting with a charity saying that in one case, a man with a machete tried to rob aid workers who were receiving a delivery of medicine.
"The presence of policemen, military and government forces will definitely improve things (but) it will not be overnight," Roxas said, confirming reports that the Tacloban city government had imposed a curfew on residents of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
"It is a tool that we are using to minimize the looting and break-ins. We know some people cannot return home (during the curfew) because their homes were washed away but it is more effective against roving gangs who are looking for targets of opportunity," he said.
It is not clear where newly homeless residents are meant to go during this period.
Roxas added that the public works department had cleared at least one lane of a highway entering the city, which would speed up entry of supplies. It is hoped that incidences of looting will decrease as food relief flows to isolated areas.
Roxas said the government's three main priorities were to restore peace and order, bring in relief goods and start collecting corpses.
"Now that we have achieved number one and two, the priority is the recovery of the cadavers," he said. – with Agence France-Presse
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
