The CDRC has been calling on President Duterte to grant its request for exemption from taxes and duties for the shipment of pinewood for the shelter project as well as for a waiver in the storage fees at the Port of Cebu so that the shipment can be released soon.
MANILA — As the world celebrates the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR), the Citizens Disaster Response Center Foundation, Inc. (CDRC) called on President Rodrigo Duterte to act on its request for the release of wood for the shelter project for Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) survivors in Jaro, Leyte.
The IDDR, which began in 1989, is a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. Held every 13 October, the day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face.
Suyin Jamoralin, CDRC executive director said in a statement, “How can we celebrate the IDDR here if we have not reduced the Yolanda survivors’ exposure to disasters?”
The CDRC underscored the plight of its Shelter Project Phase 2 beneficiaries in barangays San Roque, Buenavista and Macanip in Jaro, Leyte who are living in makeshift houses. The construction of 300 houses has been halted, as the CDRC could not get the wood released from the Port of Cebu due to non-issuance of tax/duties exemption and waiver of storage fees.
For ten months, the CDRC went to various government agencies to request for exemption from tax and duties for the shipment donated by CDRC’s partner DiakonieKatastrophenhilfe (DKH) but their requests have not been acted upon.
Two of the supposed beneficiaries—Antonio Garrido, 60, and Alberto Fuertes, 46, have already died.
“They may have survived Super Typhoon Yolanda but they did not survive bureaucratic red tape and government neglect,” Jamoralin said. “The only thing we’ve been asking these past months is for the government to give us the due assistance needed to help the communities they have not reached.”
The NGO said that unlike the substandard houses built by government for Yolanda survivors, the CDRC and its partner DiakonieKatastrophenhilfe (DKH) are building typhoon- and earthquake-resistant houses.
During the first phase of the project, the CDRC had already turned over 300 houses to beneficiaries in six barangays of Jaro, Leyte in November last year. Wood donated to construct the houses was exempted from taxes and duties under Presidential Memorandum Order No. 36 in 2014. This was processed through a one-stop-shop (OTS) created by the government for donations to Yolanda survivors.
During the second phase, however, the OTS no longer existed and the CDRC had to process the exemption through the different government departments and agencies concerned.
The CDRC has been calling on President Duterte to grant its request for exemption from taxes and duties for the shipment of pinewood for the shelter project as well as for a waiver in the storage fees at the Port of Cebu so that the shipment can be released soon. 
