Philippines: Landslides and Floods Appeal No. 03/04 Operations Update no. 4

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In Brief

Appeal No. 03/04; Operations Update no. 04; Period covered: 08 July 2004 to 30 September 2004; Appeal coverage: 99.5% (Click here for the weekly updated Contributions List, also available on the website).

Appeal history:

Launched on 07 January 2004 for CHF 853,000 (USD 692,989 or EUR 544,144) for 06 months for 565 beneficiary families.

Budget revised to CHF 378,148 and 300 beneficiary families (including 140 for the shelter component).

This operations update notifies of a programme extension until end March 2005, with a shelter component of 140 houses and the final report due on 30 June 2005.

Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: CHF 50,000 (reimbursed).

Outstanding needs: CHF 1,829

Related Emergency/Annual Appeals: Emergency Appeal 03/04; South East Asia Regional Appeal 01.66/04

Operational Summary:

The project site has been transferred to Barangay Esperanza from Barangay Pinut-an. This was made possible through successful advocacy work undertaken by the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) with partners as well as with the affected families. Whilst this was on-going with the task force (the group of stakeholders involved with different aspects of the project implementation) , social preparation took place simultaneously at community level. This resulted in the full agreement of the families to be relocated to this new site and the donation of 1.3 hectares of land from local land owners. The government is currently processing the procurement of an additional 1.4 hectares in adjacent lots. This is expected to be completed by mid-October.

Site development, involving the clearing and grading of lots commenced in the last week of September. A temporary warehouse was constructed and materials from the previous site were transported to the new site.

The building of the first housing unit was began on 28 September. Several other housing units are currently being laid out in designated plots based on the site development plan. There are 40 persons from the affected community providing assistance to this activity. The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), at the request of the PNRC chairman, deployed a contingent of 20 army personnel from the Army's Engineering Brigade to augment the number of skilled workers for housing construction. At least 15 community members from the adjacent barangay also volunteered in exchange for the food for work (FFW) programme.

The PNRC national headquarters has agreed to replace the rice for the FFW programme, as it was found to be of poor quality. A carton of dried fish unfit for human consumption was destroyed and will subsequently be replaced by the PNRC.

The PNRC staff conducted training courses in community-based disaster management (CBDM) for selected community leaders who will be responsible for disseminating this knowledge to other beneficiaries.

Distribution of agricultural tools will take place following the training session on bio-intensive household gardening (scheduled for March).

The PNRC and the Federation have agreed revisions to the operational timeframe. Although the timeframe now extends from December 2004 to March 2005; the PNRC will be working on a no-cost extension.

Operational developments

Red Cross and Red Crescent action - objectives, progress, impact

Objective 1 (revised): Provide new housing for 140 families living in evacuation centres or other temporary accommodation.

Out of the total 2.7 hectares needed, 1.3 hectares have already been acquired. The procurement of the remaining 1.4 hectares of land is currently being processed as these plots belong to different land owners; some have migrated to other provinces and are being traced by the local government.

The site development plan was completed by the PNRC project engineer, as part of the recommendation of the previous report. It outlines the utilisation of 2.7 hectares for 80 duplex housing units, access roads, and a communal area for community activities.

Site clearing began in the second week of September. Land grading and construction of a temporary warehouse was started during the last week of September. The government provided two bulldozers to develop the site.

Housing construction commenced on 28 September whilst ten other houses are now being laid-out in different plots. Housing construction is being carried out by the families (felling of coconut trees and production of coconut timber, masonry and carpentry), the PNRC project staff (overseeing of the whole site development), and the government (provision of heavy equipment and personnel). The Philippine Army deployed 20 soldiers skilled in masonry/carpentry from the Army Engineering Brigade. This was requested by PNRC through the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).

Completion of construction and handover of housing units to the families will take place in March 2005.

Objective 2: Re -establish and improve access to safe water and provide sanitation facilities to the affected population.

This part of the operation was handed over to the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) (see previous operations updates).

Objective 3: Assist 300 of the most affected families to regain financial stability through the provision of livelihood facilities for income generation.

The distribution of agricultural tools will be undertaken by the end of the training session on vegetable garden production in March 2005. These will come in a package together with initial seeds and planting materials which will be provided by the department of agriculture. This is to ensure that the use of tools will be maximised by providing basic technical knowledge on bio-intensive backyard vegetable garden production.

Objective 4: Train and organise 120 community volunteers in the 12 most affected barangay of the five municipalities in CBDM training.

A basic training course on CBDM was conducted for community leaders from among the affected families.

A training-of-trainers course will provide follow up to the CBDM training course as part of the process of disseminating further the idea of building a safety culture within the community. This will be conducted in November.

To assist with the eventual formation of Barangay Disaster Action Teams (BDATS), a community based first aid course will be conducted from 25 to 30 October 2004.

Training and organising of BDATs will be undertaken from 8 to 12 November 2004.

Skills training for families and other volunteers will be conducted by the government's technical accreditation bureau. Training courses in masonry and carpentry is scheduled for 11 October 2004, after which, an on-the-job training session will focus on the housing construction on site.

Training courses in bio-intensive vegetable garden production will take place from 18 to 19 March 2005.

Federation Coordination

The Federation disaster risk management programme officer (based in the Philippines) coordinates with the PNRC national headquarters and the Southern Leyte chapter in terms of monitoring and technical support for the project. This coordination resulted in the significant progress of the PNRC project implementation at the field level. Cooperation between the national society and the Federation remains good.

National Society Capacity Building

The experience gained from the intricacies of implementing a Federation funded project and engaging with a complex partnership with the local government has provided the PNRC chapter with many lessons learnt in logistics systems, donor relationships, co-ordination, monitoring, and social preparation.

At national level, there is a renewed interest and commitment to the implementation of the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere standards) in assessment, planning, and implementation of disaster management activities.

Communications - Advocacy and Public Information

Advocacy and public information activities conducted by PNRC proved to be successful at the project site. PNRC chapter was effective at getting partners to fully agree on the need to transfer the project site and lobbied efficiently for more proactive participation of government line agencies to expedite the completion of various project tasks.

At Federation level, the process of monitoring, particularly at the logistics and procurement system has provided an opportunity to advocate more effectively Federation standards, disaster management policies and Sphere.

· In country : Mrs. Jelma de la Pena, PNRC regional officer-in-charge for Visayas, tel: 63 25278386/ fax: 63 25270857/ email jcdp@redcross.org.ph

· In country : Mr. Rene Jinon, regional disaster risk management programme office, tel: 63 9276428467 / telefax: 63 34 7324108, e-mail: ifrcth29@ifrc.org

· Regional delegation, Bangkok: Dr. Ian Wilderspin, head of regional disaster risk management unit, tel: 66 17539598 / fax: 66 2 6408220, e-mail: ifrcth22@ifrc.org

· Regional delegation, Bangkok: Bernd Schell, programme coordinator tel: 66 2640821; fax: 66 26408220; email ifrcth28@ifrc.org

· Geneva:Secretariat: SE Asia desk Charles Evans/Sabine Feuglet tel: 41 227304320; fax: 41 227330395; email charles.evans@ifrc.org or sabine.feuglet@ifrc.org

All International Federation assistance seek to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org