Skip to main content

Philippines: Typhoons Appeal no. MDRPH002 Final report

Countries
Philippines
Sources
IFRC
Publication date
Origin
View original

GLIDE no TC-2006-000175-PHL

Period covered by this Final Report: October 2006 to December 2008;

Appeal target (current): CHF 9,878,867 (USD 9.67 million or EUR 6.28 million);

Final Appeal coverage: 98%;

Appeal history:

- Preliminary emergency appeal launched on 2 October 2006 for CHF 5,704,261 (USD 4,563,408 or EUR 3,610,292) to assist 126,000 beneficiaries for three months.

- Appeal revised on 19 October 2006 to update plans and extend the operation timeframe to nine months.

- Appeal re-launched on 4 December 2006 to incorporate needs of successive typhoons, for a sum of CHF 8,833,789 (USD 7,318,798 or EUR 5,552,350) to assist 200,000 people for nine months.

- Appeal revised on 20 December 2006 for CHF 10,547,314 (USD 8,637,057 or EUR 6,587,671) to assist 1,030,000 beneficiaries for nine months.

- Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): CHF 100,000 (Sept. 2006); CHF 100,000 (Nov. 2006).

- With this final report, this emergency appeal will be closed. As there is still a remaining balance of CHF 1,142,175 currently outstanding, the International Federation seeks to transfer the funds over the next 30 days to the following appeals:

- Philippines: Typhoon Fengshen (MDRPH004) to support the recovery and construction of shelters for those affected (CHF 524,258)

- Philippines: Plan 2009-2010 (MAAPH001) to support the capacity building of the Philippine national society (CHF 617,917)

Partners/donors who have any questions about the reallocation of the final balance of funds are kindly requested to contact the International Federation within the next 30 days.

Summary

2006 was a year that saw the relentless onslaught of continuous typhoons, severe storms, floods and landslides strike the Philippines. In the wake of these, communities already poverty-stricken were left to face new challenges. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) put the figure at approximately 1,547,590 individuals (some 309,518 families) in the Bicol region alone left without homes caused by these weather events. Challenges that rose in the aftermath of these typhoons included food shortages and increased unemployment due to destruction of crops, fisheries and small businesses. Key crops such as rice and natural resources like coconut lumber, nipa plants and bamboo which are essential for supporting recovery were mostly destroyed.

Despite this setback, the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) working with the International Federation have managed to provide 12,364 families in ten provinces with transitional shelter with a five to eight year life-span within the emergency operational timeframe of nine months. By the end of 2007, the emergency phase of the operation was complete with shelter and health services provided to all target beneficiaries.

While the shelter, relief and health components were completed, the operation was extended by a further 12 months to 31 December 2008. This extension aimed to provide the national society sufficient time for strengthening their capacity in day-to-day activities and programme work in a more structured manner. For example, the water and sanitation capacities of the national society were strengthened.

The International Federation country office provided assistance to the PNRC in this regard. During 2008, focus was laid on the elaboration and definition of PNRC core activities which would apply more of a long-term impact-oriented approach rather than one that was focused on short-term effect. The approach, which seeks to address the main cause of vulnerability of communities at risk, was introduced to chapter administrators during meetings held through the span of the operation. At the same time, participants were given the option of developing and determining particular activities that could create positive impact on the vulnerability of the communities at risk. Activities identified will be included in the PNRC strategic planning paper 2010-2014.

During this time also, PNRC was embarking on a massive recruitment process to increase the number of volunteers in remote areas of the country. This process was vital to ensure the high quality provision of services for those most at risk in disaster. However, it also posed a formidable challenge for the national society in terms of overall volunteer management and training. To keep the cost of the necessary training manageable, a menu of toolkits was developed. These kits ensure simple, attractive and highly action-orientated training without creating a need for a large training caseload.

Despite a number of achievements, activities to be carried out were confronted by the rapid approach of the 2008 typhoon season. Unlike previous anticipated patterns wherein typhoons strike in the last four months of the year, an unexpected Typhoon Fengshen hit the Philippines in June. The sixth typhoon in 2008, Fengshen also swept broadly across areas traditionally unaffected by typhoons, taking communities and authorities by surprise. Subsequently, upon the request of the Philippine national society, the International Federation launched an emergency appeal. This operation is underway at the time of writing, and is similar to the 2006 Typhoons operation in its focus on emergency shelter, water and sanitation, and health.

The Philippines Typhoons 2006 appeal which focused largely on shelter and relief, and health, water and sanitation faced several challenges in its implementation. In terms of shelter and relief, challenges included the unexpected high cost of building materials, the lack of appropriate materials locally available, and lack of access to remote areas; however, solutions were sought and implemented, allowing the work to be completed. In health, water and sanitation, the work did not only consist of establishing tangible structures, but also a change in mindset whereby communities underwent health education for better health and hygiene practices.

In the face of these activities, the PNRC was also a key player in responding to other operations ongoing in the country. Communities affected by the impact of renewed conflict in the south of the country rely on support by the national society. As such, resources and capacities of the national society are highly stretched, which put strain on the 2006 Typhoons operation, and continues to put pressure on the implementation of activities on the present Typhoon Fengshen operation.

The International Federation continues to strongly support the work of the PNRC. Given the completion of the planned activities and achievement of intended objectives under of the 2006 Typhoons appeal, and at the same time, taking into consideration the existing need for capacity building of the PNRC and the current shelter needs of households affected by the Typhoon Fengshen, the International Federation seeks to divide and reallocate the remaining balance from the 2006 Typhoons operation towards the annual plan 2009-2010 and to support the Typhoon Fengshen operation.

It will allow PNRC the option of: (1) addressing the shelter needs of households affected by Fengshen and (2) further strengthening PNRC's capacity in disaster management through development of important volunteer training and management tools on disaster risk reduction and disaster response through the annual plan. Funds allocated towards the annual plan will be geared towards this capacity building effort, whereas funds allocated to the Fengshen operation will be utilized for construction of typhoon-resistant houses using the concept developed through the 2006 Typhoons operation.

Partners who contributed to the 2006 Typhoons appeal include the American Red Cross, Australian Red Cross, British Red Cross/government, Canadian Red Cross/government, Cyprus Red Cross, Danish Red Cross, Finnish Red Cross, French Red Cross, German Red Cross, Hong Kong branch of the Red Cross Society of China, Irish Red Cross/government, Japanese Red Cross, Korea Republic Red Cross, Macau branch of the Red Cross Society of China, Monaco Red Cross, Netherlands Red Cross/government, New Zealand Red Cross/government, Norwegian Red Cross/government, Singapore Red Cross, Swedish Red Cross/government, Swiss Red Cross/government, Taiwan Red Cross Organization, and United Arab Emirates Red Crescent.

Contributions were also received from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Directorate General (ECHO), the governments of Italy, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, OPEC, and the Voluntary Emergency Relief/WHO.

On behalf of the Philippine National Red Cross, the International Federation would like to thank all partners and donors for their support of and contributions to this appeal.