By bulatlat.com RODRIGUEZ, Rizal–As Tropical storm “Juaning” (international name: Nock-ten) made landfall in Casiguran, Aurora, some 3,000 families in government relocation sites at Kasiglahan Village Phase 1K and at neighboring areas fear for a repeat of the roof-high flood that savaged the Montalban relocation sites in 2009 when Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the country. Montalban relocation [...]

After Ondoy: The Road to Recovery

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
When the hype about relief and relocation efforts for victims of Ondoy, especially the poor in vulnerable communities, had died down, the urban poor were left to rebuild their houses and their lives, without any outside assistance. A year after, they are in a worse state than before Ondoy hit the country.

Sidebar: Memories of Ondoy, Government Neglect Push Residents to Prepare Themselves

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL Bulatlat.com Imelda Bondocoy lost her house and her sister-in-law when typhoon Ondoy struck the country last year. Fire and flood hit the urban poor community in Agno, Tatalon, Quezon City where Bondocoy lives. The Manila Electric Company did not immediately cut off the electricity despite calls from residents, thereby causing [...]

By MARYA SALAMAT
“It is a challenge to the Aquino administration to address the housing question holistically, beyond the low-cost housing projects peddled as the flagship program of the government,” GWP Rep. Emmi de Jesus says.

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
When typhoon Basyang hit Metro Manila, the government was unprepared not only because the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) missed the prediction, but because it simply was not ready to respond to any disaster.

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Justice, jobs, immediate relief, and a review of the government’s housing program to make it more affordable are the most pressing concerns of the urban poor, said Kadamay.

New Year, More Challenges

Evacuees affected by the recent typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) welcome the new year in evacuation camps in Brgy. Dos, Calamba in Laguna. Due to damages brought about by the typhoons, over 1,000 families are still displaced and live in crowded evacuation centers. (Photos by Buck Pago / AKP Images)

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
While climate change is not a recent phenomenon and is a result of years of destructive practices, most Filipinos do not know much about it until recently. And it has been a hard lesson learned for many Filipinos as it took the destructive effects of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng to drive home the point. The devastating effects of climate change are more intense in poor countries where majority of the people live in poverty.

Signing Up for Relief