Jardin, Jan Eli Nicoli E.

Relocation

Introduction:

Relocation is a difficult phase that a person who’s been through calamity or someone who’s
forgotten by society go through. But what’s the meaning of relocation? The first word “re”
means to do something again and “locate” or “location” is the act of transferring to a
different place. In short, to relocate is to find a new place to live. This for many people is
very difficult to do, the thought of leaving everything that you and your forefathers had
laboured for many years is very difficult. Put y’all/yourself in the shoes of the people who
had been kicked out of their homes because of illegal settling. Another thought for the
people that had lost their homes due to natural disasters such as earthquakes,typhoons
and tsunamis.

Body:

People who lived in coastal cities especially ones that are found in the Visayan islands have
suffered many years because of catasthropic disasters. One very disastrous event that we
would always remember is Tacloban, where every house had been destroyed by the strong
winds of typhoon Yolanda. This lead to thousands of people being relocated or transferred
to the most remote/isolated places east of the province. Relocating to a remote place has
very few peaks or benefits. The National Housing has set aside a large amount of money in
case of another Yolanda or typhoon happening . But the only problem we see in these
projects is that they pick places not suitable for living as relocation. Take for example
the relocation that was set for the people who lived in the outskirts of Manila and was
devastated by the flash-flood and the legality of their settlements. They were relocated
in the province of Rizal, where rebel factions/groups like NPA are set loose endangering
civilian life. Rich or poor, both classes of society will suffer from flash floods and whatnot.
However, the poor people are the ones incapable of bringing themselves back on their
knees.

Conclusion:

Again, relocation is a very difficult thing that some unfortunate people go through. I or
any of you guys as far as I know haven’t relocated because of illegal settling, typhoons or
tsunamis. This doesn’t hinder or stop us from finding solutions for our fellow filipinos so
that they and their children get a bright future. So many poor and forgotten people in
these situations not receiving immediate and enough help from the government. Take for
example the money donated by our western friends which was again divided by corrupted
Officals. I’m not trying to put the blame on the government as I have pointed out the role
we citizens of the Philippines have to play.