PHP361 BILLION NEEDED FOR YOLANDA RECOVERY, RECONSTRUCTION — NEDA

Balisacan bats for phased, cumulative, flexible response

MANILA — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) today said the Yolanda recovery and reconstruction will require a total of PhP361 billion in investments.

The estimated total investment requirements for recovery and reconstruction shall cover shelter and resettlement (PhP183.3 B), public infrastructure (PhP28.4 B), education and health services (PhP37.4 B), agriculture (PhP18.7 B), industry and services (PhP70.6 B), local government (PhP4 B) and social protection (PhP18.4B).

Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said this amount will be disbursed over four years, in line with a phased, cumulative and flexible implementation of the Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) Plan. 

“The government has allocated about PhP34B for the critical immediate actions, which are now underway. Another PhP100 billion is forthcoming in 2014,” Balisacan said.  

Investment Requirements for Recovery and Reconstruction (PhP Billion)

“RAY is the government’s strategic plan to guide the recovery and reconstruction of the economy, lives and livelihoods in the affected areas,” Balisacan said, adding that the plan aims to restore the economic and social conditions of the said areas at the very least to their pre-typhoon levels and to a higher level of disaster resilience.

Balisacan said that the design of RAY and its estimated investment requirements are based on the results of the damage, loss and needs assessment using data from national government agency-led sector teams. In some cases, upward adjustments were made to fully reflect the costs of integrating disaster-resilient standards into the reconstruction needs for some sectors, as well as to address estimated income losses in agriculture enterprises, and to provide adequate social protection.

“We are espousing the build back better principle to make affected communities more resilient and sustainable,” Balisacan said.

Estimated Recovery and Reconstruction Needs

The NEDA Director General said the total damage and loss from Typhoon Yolanda has been initially estimated at PhP571.1 billion. This, he said, includes physical assets, reductions in production, sales and income as well as the value of increased operating costs resulting from the disaster.

Balisacan explained that the sector-level damage and loss assessments are based on United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Carribean’s (UN-ECLAC) Handbook for Estimating the Socioeconomic and Environmental Effects of Disasters, an internationally recognized post-disaster assessment methodology.

“Using this methodology, we defined damage as the total or partial destruction of physical assets. Loss, on the other hand, is defined as the change in economic flows which refers to loss of incomes, revenues or operational costs. Needs means the overall recovery and reconstruction requirements for the public and private sector in the short and medium term,” he further explained.

Damage and Loss by Sector and Type of Ownership

He said that typhoon Yolanda caused damage and loss to infrastructure (PhP33.98 B), agriculture (PhP62.11 B), industry and services (PhP116 B), education (23.9 B), health (PhP5.57 B), housing (PhP 325.24 B), local government (PhP4.3 B). About 90 percent of the total damage and loss has fallen on the private sector with the remaining 10 percent on the public sector.

He stressed that the government will be strategic in its financing interventions and will mobilize other sources of funds that are now being made available by development partners and the private sector. Balisacan emphasized that RAY is a credible basis for eliciting support from the donor community.

 “It is important that we have a plan immediately in place. RAY shall also guide our development partners and the private sector in assessing and analyzing financing gaps, determining which sectors or areas to focus their assistance on, considering their respective country partnership strategies,” the economic planning secretary said. 

M.R. No. 2013-096

18 December 2013