The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the guidelines of developers in building socialized-housing projects in the areas hit by Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) in the Eastern Visayas region.
The Typhoon Yolanda Guidelines of the BOI was published and has taken effect on April 23.
Under the BOI’s existing rules, the registered housing developers have to allocate an equivalent of 20 percent of the project cost of their registered plans or parallel area specified under the law, for the socialized housing.
The recently accredited guidelines grant registered housing developers additional modes to conform to the BOI socialized-housing requirement (SHR) and, likewise, supporting the rehabilitation endeavors of the government based on the principle of “build-back-better.”
The principle aims for long-term sustainable efforts to reduce susceptibility and fortify abilities of communities in coping with future disasters.
Registered developers may donate either construction materials or land but only in specific areas recognized by the Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (CRRP), also known as the Yolanda Rehabilitation Master Plan.
The CRRP specified the areas and the specific government intervention to rehabilitate the communities hit by Yolanda in different cities and provinces, including Leyte, Capiz, Tacloban City, Iloilo and Eastern Samar. The plan concentrated on four areas of rehabilitation, which are livelihood, resettlement, social services and infrastructure.
Timely release of budget
The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), meanwhile, said it intends to focus on the timely release of the budget for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Yolanda-hit areas.
With the transfer of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery to the Neda, the economic oversight agency intends to work closely with the budget department to ensure that fund disbursements do not impede project implementation.
“We shall focus on the timely release of the budget, for projects included in the CRRP,” Economic Planning Secretary and Neda Director General Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a news statement.
“For this, we shall be working closely with the Department of Budget and Management to ensure that the requisites for responsible public financial management do not impede the efficient implementation of urgently needed rehabilitation projects,” he added.
The Neda said the reconstruction and rehabilitation projects in the Yolanda corridor will be overseen by a project monitoring office (PMO) within the Neda, under the Regional Development Office, headed by Deputy Director General Margarita R. Songco.
The Neda said the PMO will use the existing Regional Project Monitoring and Evaluation System in monitoring the status and progress of Yolanda-related projects, programs and activities (PPAs). This will serve as the basis for regularly reporting on the progress of work.
The agency also assured that it will regularly consult with local government units in the disaster-affected regions to ensure that PPAs are responsive to local needs.
It will also work with development partners from the private sector, civil society and the international development community to rebuild the economies in the affected areas and restore people’s jobs and livelihood.
“We are determined to build on the gains and learn from the shortcomings. Always our focus shall be to hasten the recovery process by eliminating administrative and policy bottlenecks in the implementation of priority PPAs,” Balisacan said.
PNA, Cai U. Ordinario