Hundreds of residents whose homes were ravaged by supertyphoon Yolanda on November 8, 2013 remain displaced in barangay Taytayan, Bogo City.
Eleven of the 225 affected residents sought assistance from the Ombudsman-Visayas yesterday to claim the full amount of the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) from the government.
Their lawyer Ruben Yuzon told the Ombudsman-Visayas that only 375 residents out of the 600 beneficiary households received the cash aid from Taytayan barangay chairperson Teresita Ursal and social welfare officer Amabel Mayor.
“Ang sa uban sitio, hinay-hinay na sila ug kahimutang, samtang kami, nagkalisod manginabuhi, kay dili ra balay ang nawala sa amo, trabaho pud ug mga mahal sa buhay (In other sitios, they are slowly getting better, while we are still struggling, because it is not only our homes, we have also lost our livelihood and people we love),” 67-year-old resident Norma Vega said.
The government allocated P30,000 cash each to families who lost their houses and P20,000 each to those whose houses were damaged during the calamity.
During yesterday’s conference among the residents, Ursal and Mayor, the barangay official denied accusations of irregularities and said only P250,000 remained from the ESA budget allocated to them.
Ursal said she offered 5,000 each to the beneficiaries, who allegedly refused.
“Our investigators will still evaluate the document we received from the residents, before we will determine the proper course of action,” said Ombudsman-Visayas investigator Atty. Maria Corazon Naraja./Palompon Institute of Technology Intern Bianca Genosa and UP Cebu Intern Juli Ann M. Sibi