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January 12-18, 2014

EASTERN
PACIFIC
HARDWARE
Baybay 3,
Borongan City
Eastern Samar

GSIS grants
special loan programs
for Yolanda-affected
members, pensioners

The Cebu-based cargo ship that runs aground into a populated barangay in Tacloban City now served as temporary shelter and sometimes
being used as tourist spot by the passing commuters, film makers and social-media bloggers. The ship was also used as venue of the
pre-nuptial pictorial by a couple from Manila and was aired via national television. (Ricky J. Bautista)

TACLOBAN CITY The Government Service Insurance

System (GSIS) is granting special loan programs to its active
members who are working or residing in the worst-hit areas
affected by typhoon Yolanda.
This was announced by GSIS President and General
Manager Robert G. Vergara, during the Dialogue with Agency
Heads and Members conducted at the Ritz Tower de Leyte,
Tacloban City on January 15.
Also present during the activity were GSIS Senior
Vice-President Atty. Dionesio C. Ebalde, Jr. and Vice-President for GSIS Visayas Salvacion P. Mate.
According to Manager Vergara, these special programs
offered by GSIS are the Loan Moratorium Program (LMP),
the Home Emergency Loan Program (HELP), the Enhanced
Emergency Loan Program (EELP), and the Pensioners Emergency Loan Program (PELP).
It was learned that under the LMP, a loan moratorium of
six months is granted to the GSIS members starting November
2013 to April 2014, which covers all active loan accounts of
its members as of October 2013 and will resume payment
effective May 2014.
On the other hand, the Home Emergency Loan Program

Expect more bunkhouses

in Samar says DPWH exec
By Ricky J. Bautista

Amid the on-going investigations on the alleged

substandard and overpriced construction of the temporary shelters for the typhoon victims, the government is constructing 247 more bunkhouses in Leyte
and Samar areas.
DPWH Region 8 Director Rolando Asis said 208
bunkhouses will be constructed in Leyte, 35 in Eastern
Samar and four (4) in Samar. He announced this last
Tuesday in a regional conference in Tacloban City.
Of the 208 bunkhouses in Leyte, some 180 houses
will be built in Tacloban City while 28 more houses in
Palo, Leyte.
Tacloban and Palo are two of the worst hit areas by
the typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). It was also hit by a 15feet storm surge that displaced thousands of its residents
considered now as homeless.
Earlier, the DPWH vowed to construct some 222
temporary shelters for the families in Eastern Visayas
who were displaced by Yolanda.

Typhoon-affected families have already occupied the

24 bunkhouses out of the 135 completed bunkhouses
built for them by the government.
These occupied shelters are located in Marabut and
Basey in Samar; Guiuan, Hernani, Quinapondan and
Borongan in Eastern Samar; and in Leyte cluster, the
DPWH official said.
DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson earlier denied
reports that the bunkhouses in Eastern Visayas were
overpriced and substandard.
In fact, it (bunkhouses in EV) were completed at a
cost of P836,017 which is lower than the original estimated cost of P959,000 per bunkhouse composed of 24
units, he said.
The DPWH official pointed out that the bunkhouses
cost of construction was lowered because the contractors generously waved the profit margin and overhead
expenses especially on common wash and toilet area.
DPWH has set the specifications for the construction of bunkhouses made of wooden frames, GI Sheet
roofing, plywood walls and raised flooring, and cement
footing. (rjb)

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to page 2....

QUATOGS
restobar
Oras
E.
Samar

to page 2....

NGCP assures
stable power
supply this
summer

THE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines

(NGCP) has assured efficient power transmission for a
reliable and stable power supply for the summer season.
Ma. Rosette B. Martinez, NGCP Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Officer for Visayas, said
that the countrys power transmission service provider
is efficiently maintaining its power lines and equipment
and transmitting power supply from all available sources.
This is to afford our consumers with smooth transmission of electricity and minimize power outages especially with the onset of the summer season, said Martinez.
She said that measures are in place to address possible scenario of overloading of system components of the
Visayas grid.
She also said that protection devices are activated to
ensure overloading of the system can be avoided and system problems can be immediately detected.
She added that a number of projects are now being
considered by NGCPs engineering department to address
possible transmission concerns and make sure that their

to page 2....

NEWS

2
Dengue, measles noted in
Yolanda-hit areas
TACLOBAN CITY
Health officials in
the region expressed
their fear of a possible
outbreak of both measles
and dengue fever cases
in Yolanda-hit areas after
cases of these ailments
stalked typhoon victims.
Doctor Jose Llacuna,
Jr., health director, said
that as of their latest
monitoring, 56 cases of
dengue fever and similar
number of cases of
measles were monitored
by their office in Yolandahit areas.
He said that Tacloban
posted
the
highest
number of dengue fever
cases at 26 followed by
Babatngon with 21 cases,
Palo ( three) Macarthur
(2)
while
Tanauan,
Carigara, Dulag and
Alang-alang, all towns in
Leyte with one case each.
Llacuna said that the
cases of dengue fever
affecting residents of
these areas have raised
fears among them as
this could result for a
possible outbreak due
to present condition as
rains continued to be
experienced in these
places.
On top of this, the
still uncollected heap of
garbage in these areas
would only compound
the health risk for
these people, the health

regional director said.

The health official had
called for cooperation of
all as government alone
cannot solve this problem.
He also called for
people to avoid self
medication
as
some
diseases like chikungunya,
pneumonia as he urged
them instead to seek help
from health authorities to
immediately and properly
provide health and medical
assistance to them.
Llacuna added that
residents in the affected
area should observe the
4S program of the DOH
to combat dengue. The
4S stands for the search
and destroy, seek early
consultation,
self

protective and say no to

fogging.
He, however, said
that in Yolanda- affected
areas, fogging was allowed
because these were done
by technical people.
Fogging
uses
chemicals that are harmful
to our health, Llacuna
said.
Fogging should also
be done in a proper time
added Llacuna.
For measles cases, the
DOH had also recorded
56 cases which were noted
in Tacloban, Carigara,
Capoocan and Palo, all in
Leyte; Oras and Can-avid,
both from Eastern Samar.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

GSIS.....

Under the Pensioners

Emergency Loan Program,
a total amount of Php20,000
loan will be granted to a
pensioner with a 6% interest
rate per year, payable in three
years to be deducted from the
pensioners monthly pension.
The GSIS gave guarantee
that the loan will be released
in one weeks time. Application forms may be downloaded at www.gsis.gov.ph
and loans may be filed at any
nearest GSIS office.
GSIS informed that as
of January 15, 2014 loan
releases for Yolanda borrowers have reached Php4.5
billion for Emergency Loan
covering 130,725 members
and Php158.2 million for
Pensioners Emergency Loan
covering 7,910 pensioners.
(Marivic Alcober)

...from page 1

has an appropriation period

from January 2 March 31,
2014 with a 6% interest rate
per annum and payable in
ten years time. This loan
program which is offered
to the GSIS members residing in the 126 worst-hit
areas offers a maximum
loan of Php200,000.00 and
is covered by redemption
insurance.
Another loan program
offered by GSIS is the Enhanced Emergency Loan
Program or EELP, which
offers Php40,000.00 loan
for members with outstanding balance and Php20,000
for borrowers without outstanding balances.

NGCP...

any power interruption

...from page 1 caused by other factors
facilities and equipment are including generation deficiencies, or those perin tip-top condition.
However, Martinez taining to distribution
s aid that NGCP could utility operations, are
only guarantee efficiency beyond our control.
She also advised the
in terms of power transconsumers
to avoid wasteful
mission.
use
of
electricity
in order to
She said that for
conserve energy.

January 12-18, 2014

Chinese Red Cross builds

transitional classrooms in
Yolanda-hit Leyte
ald O.
By Ron

PALO,
Leyte-At
least 166 classrooms are
expected to be completed
in typhoon Yolanda-hit
areas by January 31 this
month, just in time for
the Chinese New Year,
said Mu Nai Sheng,
deputy manager of the
Chinese Red Cross for
its classroom building
project.
Sheng, who has been
in Leyte since December
6 last year for the Chinese
Red
Cross
various
humanitarian assistance,
said they want the school
building construction to
be finished the soonest
possible time so the
children will feel a bit
comfortable in attending
classes.
Along with Sheng
are 34 Chinese Red Cross
volunteers helping in the
school building project.
We are here to help. We
feel your suffering, and were
sorry for what happened in
your country, Sheng told
Leyte Samar Daily Express
in an interview.

Sheng,
however
believed that Filipinos will
rise from their situation,
adding that Filipinos are
very strong people.
This is the first time
I visited Philippines, and
I admire your resiliency.
The people here still
manage to smile despite
what happened, added
Sheng, whose previous
humanitarian
projects
include that of rebuilding
Maldives, Sri Lanka and
Indonesia, among other
countries.
According
to
Sheng, the prefabricated
classrooms, whose all
materials came straight
from China, can last up
to five years, depending
however on its usage.
Each classroom has
an area of 60 square meters
which can accommodate a
good number of students,
Sheng said.
Michael Regis, school
principal of Palo National
High School, has expressed
gratitude to the Red Cross
as his school is a recipient

of 26 new classrooms from

the humanitarian agency.
According to Regis,
typhoon Yolanda destroyed
more than 30 classrooms in
his school, which brought a
big problem to the students
when they reopened classes
on December 2 last year.
We are really thankful
for the help from the Red
Cross volunteers both from
China and the Philippines,
also to the Department
of Public Works and
Highways for assisting in
the construction of our
classrooms, Regis added.
Meanwhile Sheng said
that aside from transitional
classrooms they built in
Palo, they are also building
the same in Tacloban, and
soon in Dulag, Tanauan,
and Tolosa, for both
elementary
and
high
school.
The Department of
Education has earlier said
that more than 4, 500
classrooms were destroyed
when typhoon Yolanda
hit central Philippines last
November 8, 2013. (PR)

Koreans to spend $30-M for Leyte rehab

TACLOBAN CITY
South Korean government
will be spending $30
million (32 billion South
Korean won) in its oneyear reconstruction of
government buildings in
three
typhoon-ravaged
towns in Leyte.
Lt. Baek Myunghyun,
public relations officer of
the Korean joint support
group deployed in Leyte,
said they will prioritize the
removal of storm debris
and reconstruction of
hospitals, public schools
and municipal halls in the
typhoon-stricken towns of
Palo, Tanauan and Tolosa.
This place needs
immediate recovery. As
much as we like to help
everyone, its difficult to
address all the needs. Our
focus is the repair of public
facilities so that everyone
could benefit, Baek told
Leyte Samar Daily Express.
The official said they
immediately heeded the
Philippine governments
request for aid, recognizing
the countrys participation
in the 1950s Korean War.
The driving factor why
we came here is the 7,500
Filipino youths who came

to South Korea during

the war where about 112
of them died. We want to
return back to Filipinos
generosity, Baek said.
The team, which called
themselves Araw had
brought with them 100
equipment, consisting of
back hoes, pay loaders,
military trucks, ambulance,
buses and fumigation
trucks. Heavy equipments
arrived in Leyte on
December
28,
2013
onboard the Korean Navy
ship Sunginbong Birobong.
To Korea, the Philippines is
a friend nation and the first
country to participate in the
Korean War and helped us
defend our freedom and
peace, he added.
The troops, composed
of members of South
Korean army, navy, air
force and marines is now
currently repairing the
Leyte Provincial Hospital in
Palo town and two schools
in Tanauan and Tolosa.
Construction
officially
started January 6 and will
be completed by the end of
the year.
Were working on an
environment
that
is
unfamiliar for us. Were

using construction materials

and methods that are local.
That one year mission is
not definite. An extension
may occur depending on
the agreement between two
governments. Were still
leaving that option open,
Baek said.
The troops opted to use
local construction materials
and methods to ensure the
project will be continued by
locals if in case they will not
be able to finish the project
after the mission.
The Korean team, which
belongs to the first
contingent, will stay in
Leyte until June 2014.
Another team will replace
them in the middle of the
year until December. The
team is now building their
base camp in Government
Center in Palo, Leyte.
Aside from reconstruction
activities, the troop will
also
conduct
medical
missions and hold cultural
presentation to make the
Filipinos familiar of Korean
culture. Our work here
will reinforce the friendship
of Filipinos and South
Koreans, Baek added.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO)

Reyes

Survivors....
...from page 4
bamboo.
The outer walls are
also covered in bamboo or
whatever local materials are
available from the land. They
do not own the land, mind
you, Canning said.
On completion, the new
home owner then gets P500
(about 8) from our funds to
finish off the inside. The cost
is about 200 for each house.
It would be cheaper if we were
not so far from our own homes
in Southern Leyte. The last
part of the journey can only be
undertaken by 4x4 vehicles,
Pascal wrote on his Facebook
page.
Because of my experience
in building and the fact
that I worked with Filipino
carpenters and chainsaw
operators before, I could not
do nothing. I also speak some
of the local language and most
importantly understand the
people and their culture, he
said.
After the 30 houses? As
long as I have funds I aim to
build these basic houses until
I die. In my opinion every
family deserves a basic 12 x
10 place to call home, he said.
But Canning and his team
have already gone beyond 30
houses.
In Tolosa, where coastal
areas went underwater due to
the storm surge, Canning and
his crew have allocated house
numbers up to 42 already.
There are many more
homeless who will be in the
next batch as long as funds
keep coming in, he said.
Aside from Cannings
friends and family back in the
UK helping him, he also tied
up with Taga Maasin Ka Kung
(TMKK), an online group
mainly composed of overseas
Filipino workers from Maasin
City which has been doing
charity work for three years.
The funding is by
donations from my friends,
and friends of friends,
Canning said.
As Star Apple Fund for
Leyte and TMKK for Leyte
are not yet registered charities,
Canning began working on a
foundation.
The
SEC
(Security
Exchange Commission) says I
need to have P1 million (about
16,900) in a bank account to
start a foundation. I dont have
one million, and even if I did,
they expect to leave it there
for about 10 days, whilst they
check that it is there. So what
about the people who need
shelter? Housing them is my
priority, Canning said.
The motto of Star Apple
Leyte Fund will now change
from I Cannot Do Nothing
to We Cannot do Nothing.
The We is our donors and
volunteers, he said.

January 12-18, 2014

OPINION
EDITORIAL

E A S TE RN S A M A R

Dalmacio C. Grafil
Publisher

Pio Calvo
Editor-in-Chief
Romeo Cebreros
OIC
Brgy. Songco, Borongan City
Eastern Samar
(055) 261-3319

DISASTER

Hints and Traces

By Fr. Roy Cimagala
The endless quest for humility
OH, what a slippery
virtue humility is! Its hard
to keep it in ones grip
without pride spoiling it
precisely by making use
of it. The most insidious
and devious type of pride
is when one takes pride in
his humility, righteousness
and holiness. Thats when
pride becomes almost invincible.
When one finds it hard
to understand and pray for
others, to be considerate
and magnanimous, these
are signs of the absence of
humility. When one thinks
in an abiding way to be
superior to others, when
he is quick to judge others
and to regard his criteria,
standards and opinions
to be the only ones that
matter, for sure humility is
practically dead.
When he does not feel
superior, he is usually taken over by envy and anxiety. Insecurity creeps in,
and joy and peace just flee.
Thus, he likes to feed his
superiority by indulging
in selfies and other forms
of self-assertion, both open
and hidden, aggressive and
subtle, even to the point of
using reverse psychology.
When one seems to see
only the weaknesses, mistakes and failures of others
with hardly any notice or
just quiet on their accomplishments, you can be
sure pride is lording it over
him. He may be well-mannered from a distance, but
when he starts to speak, the
words betray whats really
inside his mind and heart.
He is prone to gossip,
unable to control himself.
He, of course, will try to
make himself look good
and fair. He may even admit to some shortcomings
of his own but only to
strike a bigger blow on

others. Its actually a terrible, dirty world, this world

of gossip.
He is usually hard to be
with. And if he looks like
hes being sociable, you can
readily see the artificiality of
it all. And most of the time,
he only talks about his own
self, about his own interests.
He hardly listens to others.
He just listens to himself.
I have met all kinds of
people but theres hardly
anything more depressing
than to talk with someone so enclosed in his own
world that no reminder,
suggestion and correction
from outside can enter.
Only his ideas and ways
make sense. Those of others
dont. The proud person is
agonizingly blind.
This reminds me of
what St. Peter once said in
his letter. God resists the
proud but gives grace to the
humble. A proud person
cannot be a man of God.
C.S. Lewis expressed it well
when he said:
As long as you are
proud you cannot know
God. A proud man is always
looking down on things
and people: and, of course,
as long as you are looking
down you cannot see something that is above you.
The scourge of pride
usually afflicts people of
more or less high status intellectually or in some other
aspects like talents, power,
fame and fortune in life. It
can afflict persons even in
a more grievous way in the
religious and ecclesiastical
circles.
In fact, I have come to
believe after many years of
experience that theywe,
including myselfare the
most vulnerable ones. This,
of course, is not surprising
since the higher one gets in
his status, the bigger also

Winning stance
esilient. This is the mostwidely used word to picture the
Waraynons particularly in areas

hit by supertyphoon Yolanda on November 8

last year. Every corner of the world ascribe
this adjective to the manner by which the
victims of Yolanda in Eastern Visayas have
shown their determination to rise above
adversity and dearth, and rebuild their lives
that the furious mother nature tried to snatch
from them in a couple of hours.
Now, as can at least be gleaned on news
reports and documentaries by those who
never had the opportunity to step on the lands
ravaged by the megastorm, the residents and
entrepreneurs are really making this disaster
that just passed a loser rather than a victor in
shattering their hope of recovery by moving
ahead upright and head up although a day at
a time.
To many, the storm was just among the trials
that could make or break the total framework
of an individual. Save the case of those who
have lost every bit of their material possession
or, worse, their loved ones, rebuilding was not
that difficult to come by among those easily
reached by aids from benevolent individual
and institutional donors and volunteers
domestic and foreign.
The local governments sincerity in
reaching out to the victims, sans regard to
political colors, is another factor that makes
the proverbial dictum Arise and Move On
indubitably doable. The resilient Filipino
which is almost a household by word across the
would be the temptations,
and the more painful would
be the fall when he falls.
But to be sure, not
everything is lost. There is
always hope. And the more
challenging the problem
and predicament are, we
can also get a greater grace.
St. Paul said it: Where
sin abounded, grace did
abound more. (Rom 5,20)

It is just a matter at
focusi ng our life on God,

entirely conforming our mind

and heart on Christ, on his
word and example. We just
have to develop the proper
attitudes and virtues. We have
to be open-minded, always
thankful, mindful always that
everything good comes from
God.
The bad things should

archipelago depicts the heroism that thrives

within the inner walls of every Filipinos
ideals and perception. It is a winning stance
that embodies the true sense of survival.
Being resilient, though, is an attribute not
exclusive to the Waraynons. Every human
on planet Earth is simply admirable
for his endurance, toughness, flexibility
and spirit in coping with any form of
tribulation that come between him and
his struggle for betterment, save again the
case of those who suffer the beating and
end with mental and emotional baggage.
The people of Mindanao who also
suffered a blow in the decades-long
war between the Muslim rebels and
government troops, those in some parts of
Luzon and Visayas which sustained losses
due to continued heavy rains that stormed
their vegetations and verdant landscapes,
and in areas battered by the killer quakes
that destroyed even the repositories of
the countries rich past, are all equally
resilient. They comprise what is now a
race to reckon the Filipino community.
This, however, is without saying that
they will just be complacent and too
trusting especially to the government
which is graft-laden and at times construed
to be apathetic to the real plight of the
suffering natives. Their vigilance and
persistence in upholding what is lawful
and just make their winning stance more
pronounced and relevant.
neither take us away from
God, but rather should spur
us to go even more closely to
him, convinced that Christ has
redeemed us, converting our
sinfulness into the very way
of our own salvation through
the cross.
We need to follow Christs
command closely to love one
another as he himself has loved
us. For this, we cannot help

but have to deny ourselves

and to carry the cross in any
form it comes, as he himself
clearly said.

Lets develop the attitude of doing what we have

to do yet passing unnoticed,
always eager to serve and
not to be served. And as St.
Paul said, in humility, let
each esteem others better
than themselves. (Phil 2,3).

E A S TE RN S A M A R

NEWS

January 12-18, 2014

Catbalogan LGU continue bringing relief to

typhoon-affected residents in Leyte
THE Local Government of Catbalogan City is giving non-stop support to the Yolanda affected people in
Leyte, with the hope that this will somehow relieve the
burden of the victims brought about by the traumatic
experience.

As part of the continued aid of Catbalogan to fellow WarayWarays affected by the recent calamity, the LGU team recently
delivered some 3,760 packs of non- food items to the people of
three towns in Leyte.
Salbar Samar thru Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan recently distributed new and used clothing along with toiletries and towels
to residents of Alang-Alang, Palo and in San Jose, Tacloban City,
all in the province of Leyte.
We will never forget the help extended by Catbalogan
City government in our barangay, one of the beneficiaries said.

In Alang-Alang, Leyte, 200 relief packs were distributed at

Barangay Blumentritt thru Barangay Chairman Alfonso Protesta; and 300 relief packs at Barangay San Roque thru Barangay
Chairman Artemio Ayo.
Meanwhile, in Palo, Leyte, 900 relief packs were distributed
at Barangay Libertad through Municipal Administrator Pipes
Ygrubay and some 767 relief packs were distributed at Barangay
San Joaquin through Mr. Papos Lantajo.
Moreover, in San Jose, Tacloban City, no less than 1,595 relief
packs were distributed through Barangay Chairman Lodovico
Ortiga.
LGU Catbalogan was one of the first responders in Tacloban
City the day after Yolanda hit the region.
The said LGU conducted distribution of relief goods, medical
mission and rescue operations in different parts of Eastern Visayas
that were hardly hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda. (Avha H. Ebalde)

Trafficking, prostitution taking a turn for the

worse amid neglect of disaster victims-solon
Gabriela
Womens
Party
Representative
Luzviminda Ilagan urged
colleagues in the House
of Representatives to
immediately tackle in its
agenda House Resolution
453
amid
increased
reports of trafficking and
cybersex operations in the
country, especially in areas
hardest hit by Typhoon
Yolanda including Leyte
and Cebu.
HR 453 principally
authored by Gabriela
Womens Party Reps.
Ilagan and Emmi De Jesus
directs the Committees
on the Welfare of
Children and Women
and Gender Equality to
conduct an inquiry on
the virtual Sweetie and
the glaring inability of the
Philippine government to

stop pedophilia and child

pornography.
Despite the enactment
of laws including the AntiChild Pornography law
and the Anti-Trafficking
in Persons Act, the
Philippines continues to
fail in addressing gender
violence. These laws are
obviously not enough
as they are practically
negated by government
policies
that
worsen
unemployment
and
women and families lack
of access to basic social
services. Women and their
families are practically left
with no choice. Sa kabila
ng mga naipasang batas,
mahihirapan talaga tayong
mapigilan ang cybersex
at
cyberprostitution
hanggat papalala ang
kahirapan at ang kawalan

ng kabuhayan,Ilagan said.
In recent months,
raids on suspected cyber
prostitution dens have
been conducted in both
Cebu and Angeles cities
in Pampanga. The said
cybersex and prostitution
operations
reportedly
victimized minors and
young girls from poor
communities.
The urgency with
which this issue must
be addressed cannot be
emphasized enough as
a growing number of
young women and girls
become
increasingly
vulnerable to gender
violence. The absence of
livelihood opportunities,
the governments criminal
neglect of typhoon and
disaster victims evident
in the slow and inefficient

response to the relief

and rehabilitation needs
of
disaster
survivors
make women and girls
easy prey for traffickers,
cybersex operators and
pimps, said Ilagan who
also cited reports of
human trafficking among
Typhoon Yolanda victims
in Basey and Marabut in
Samar province.
Reports estimate some
60,000 to 100,000 Filipino
children
have
fallen
victims to sex predators
and pedophiles.
The Gabriela solons
said they are hoping that
both the Committees on
the Welfare of Children
and Women and Gender
Equality will tackle HR 453
when Congress resumes
session next week.(R)

The Canning family with recipient of Star Apple Leyte Fund

House 42 in Tolosa Leyte

Survivors build
houses the Irish way
Pascal Canning, 51, an Irishman, came to the Philippines on
March 15, 2006, a few weeks after a landslide covered the entire
village of Guinsaugon in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte. He found
his wife Eden Lida from Maasin City and they married in 2008.
Like many foreigners who marry locals, Canning got used
to the humdrum of rural life, until he opened a new beach hotel
named Caimito.
Canning and his wife busied themselves with the day-to-day
operation of the hotel, welcoming guests, foreigners and locals
alike, to their resort.
Then supertyphoon Yolanda pounded Leyte and Samar on
Nov. 8, 2013, killing more than 6,000 people and flattening more
than 1 million houses.
Canning and his wife no longer felt comfortable spending
their nights enjoying the evening sky from their newly-built
villas, knowing that some 100 kilometers away, entire villages
had been swept away, leaving thousands of people homeless.
Canning decided to seek help from his friends in Ireland,
starting what the Star Apple Leyte Fund on Nov. 17, 2013 on
Facebook.
I am from Ireland, living in Maasin, Southern Leyte. I set
up this fund to help the people from the northern Leyte rebuild
their lives. Star Apple Leyte Fund was created this week by me.
It is for my friends in Ireland. US people are welcome to donate.
If you have a problem with it not being a registered charity, just
send your money to the Red Cross, etc. Every penny we take
in will be accounted for and every penny will be spent on the
displaced people. We have no administrative expenses, Canning
wrote.
By Dec. 19, 2013, Canning and his crew including his
brother Gary and cousin Declanwere already moving on to
their second emergency housing project in Tolosa, Leyte, after
completing 31 houses in Barangay Tugas in Tabango, Leyte, some
four hours drive from his hotel in Maasin City.
Canning said he chose Tabango first because he had a friend
there who was married to a Filipina from the area.
It was total wipeout of the indigent houses. We built 31
12x10 houses with about 42 families. The lots are owned by a
farmer who donated the trees, he said.
Choosing Tolosa also gave him no problem in terms of land
ownership.
We needed a place to build without problems. They are not
squatters. The indigents have permission to build on the land,
Pascal said.
Every built house gets a house number, and costs about 200
to 300 euros to build. Donors see what their donations are buying
on Cannings Facebook page.
I am building 30 native homes. This process starts off with
the chainsaw operators cutting the fallen coconut trees into 4x4,
4x2, 3x2 and 2x2 timber. My carpenters then build a wooden
framed building, 12 x 10 and cover in corrugated galvanized
steel. The house owner then covers the floor joists with split

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