By QUISHELLE GAHID
www.nordis.net

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — As the strawberry festival is all set and ongoing, the evacuees of typhoon Pepeng are still looking for a permanent place to rebuild. By the end of March, they are obliged to leave their temporary refuge.

The government has been assuring through media statements that a portion of the Benguet State University will be the permanent relocation area for the evacuees. In a visit, the evacuees revealed their true situation.

They said the local officials have not yet identiffied a definite place for them to stay after March. The said property of Benguet State University already has claimants.
According to one of the evacuees, there are 43 of them who are supposed to be relocated but 12 of their fellow evacuees chose to go back to Little Kibungan because of the slow response of the government of La Trinidad.

For 31 evacuees left in the tent site, going back to their former dwelling in Little Kibungan is dangerous and reminds them always of the trauma that the landslide brought them. 

The evacuees added that there are organizations who are giving relief goods and donating resources to them but there is still no definite place for them to re build their homes.

Aside from the relocation project, the evacuees were promised P70,000 per family as calamity assistance but nothing was given. They were told to comply with the requirements of the assistance which they did. They ask where did the money go.

There is a livelihood program for them but it is not enough. They have been making and selling baskets from recycled paper. One basket can fetch about P25. They admitted that it can be a big help if they could make more. As beginners they can only create one basket in 6 hours and some are even rejected because they are not yet experts at it.

According to them, they are seeking ways to find a living because relying on promises alone leads to hopelessness.

The evacuees are pleading that if the relocation for them cannot be given, the government of La Trinidad should at least give them the calamity assistance of P70,000 in order for them to start a business for their families.# Quishelle Gahid