MANILA – Following the recent devastation of super typhoon Haiyan in central Philippines, President Benigno Aquino now wants communities redesigned such that they will not be as vulnerable to storm surges and other effects of powerful cyclones.
Aquino, speaking to reporters at the Ormoc City Airport in Leyte province, said it pained him to learn of so many deaths because of the effects of Yolanda.
“Siyempre gusto natin malaman bakit umabot ng ganoon, mayroon pa ba tayong magagawa? Pwede ba nating ire-design ang communities para mas maging resistant to such things … ‘yung maski sa mamatayan, talagang mabigat sa kalooban ko ‘yun (We want to see if there is something we can do to prevent such a tragedy in the future. Can we redesign our communities to be more resistant to such occurrences? The deaths of so many people have weighed heavily on me),” he said.
Haiyan, one of the most powerful cyclones in recent history, barreled through parts of Visayas and Southern Luzon earlier this month. Thousands of people had died from the storm.
Aquino had been visiting areas in the Visayas that were affected by the storm. He said concerned government agencies are already working on medical attention, power restoration, and helping people get their lives back to normal.
“Talagang bibilis at bibilis na rin sa susunod na araw, dahil lahat itong transportation glitches, ay unti-unti… tuloy-tuloy na hahanapan ng paraan para lalong mapabilis ang pag-ikot ng mga nagde-deliver. Talagang challenge, pero talagang naagapan ng napakaraming sector (We expect the recovery efforts to move faster in the coming days because the transportation glitches are being addressed. We are finding more ways to deliver relief items and services, and we are meeting the challenges with the help of so many sectors),” he said.
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