MANILA — In times of disaster, evacuees struggle to get life back to normal and one way to ease their hardship is by giving them humane living conditions inside evacuation centers.
Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro believes that evacuees deserved a humane temporary shelter.
As such, the city government purchased 500 modular tents for evacuation centers during disasters and emergencies.
“We thought of getting modular tents because evacuees deserve privacy and comfort. We have definitely learned our lessons from “Ondoy”,” Teodoro, speaking in Filipino, said in a radio interview.
The modular tents bought only this month were set up for the first time in select evacuation centers in Barangay Malanday – one of the flood-prone areas in the city.
The tents, measuring 1.5 x 1.5 meters, can accommodate five to seven persons. It is top-open for ventilation and closed on all sides for privacy.
The city plans to purchase more modular tents, according to the city’s public information office.
For long-time city resident Lourdes Carpio, 65, the provision of modular tents for evacuees like her is a welcome development in the local government’s disaster response measures.
“Mas komportable ‘yung ganito na may tent kasi may privacy ang mga pamilya. Nakakatulog ka ng mahimbing diyan, hindi katulad noon na kakaba-kaba na kapag nag-iwan ka ng tsinelas o gamit sa labas, may nagsusuot ng iba (It’s comfortable, families have privacy. We get to sleep well and our belongings are secure),” Carpio told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
She said relief distribution has also become easier because authorities have immediately identified the affected residents.
“Pag nakapila kasi, yung iba minsan nagdodoble. Mas maganda na yung ganito, lahat nagkakaroon (Sometimes relief distribution gets messed up when we queue. With this, families get a fair share of relief),” she added.
Another resident, Nimfa Equipado, 64, lost her house and belongings to the floods. She has gotten used to fleeing her home and seeking temporary shelter in evacuation centers. Being a “regular”, Equipado has seen substancial improvements on how the city takes care of them.
“Okay naman po ang ginagawa ng city government, maganda naman po. Kumpleto po dito, sagana po kami dito. May pagkain, foam at banig na pantulog (We are well taken care of. We have enough food and a comfortable space to sleep on),” she said.
The modular tents for the evacuees, which went viral on social media, also earned praises from netizens.
“Good use of people’s money,” a certain Carlos Liwanag said on PNA’s Facebook page.
“Sana ganito sa buong bansa at sana naman sa mga pinapagamit ng mga tent may maging responsible sila para may magamit pa kunsakaling kailanganin (I hope this would also be replicated in other places in the country and the evacuees should be responsible in using them in case they’ll be used again),” Adel Dapoc said.
As of 10:30 a.m. Monday (August 13), or two days since evacuation efforts started, a total of 153 families or 618 persons were housed at the Sampaguita evacuation center in Barangay Malanday.
Dr. Honnielyn Fernando, assistant city health officer, said evacuees would leave the center in the morning to clean their flooded houses and return in the evening to sleep in the modular tents with their families.
She said the evacuees are given medical treatment for wounds and prophylaxis against leptospirosis.
Marikina City is no stranger to disasters, especially during the wet season, when heavy rains would cause the Marikina River to swell, eventually flooding the city’s low-lying areas.
In September 2009, the city suffered from massive flooding brought about by typhoon “Ondoy” (international name Ketsana). Since then, the city government has improved its efforts in disaster response and evacuation center management.