[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 178 (Monday, December 16, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1889-E1890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE U.S. POST-TYPHOON RESPONSE IN THE PHILIPPINES: HEALTH AND HUMAN 
                             RIGHTS ISSUES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 16, 2013

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, Recently, the deadliest typhoon 
ever to hit South East Asia devastated portions of the Philippines, 
including the islands of Leyte, Samar, and Cebu. With sustained winds 
of 155 miles per hour, Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda reached as high as 270 
miles per hour at one brief point. The storm surge reached a maximum 
height of 40 feet. It is the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record, 
killing more than 5,600 people. Another 1,759 are listed as missing. 
Approximately 26,000 were injured. Yolanda is also the strongest storm 
ever recorded at landfall, and unofficially the fourth strongest 
typhoon ever recorded in terms of wind speed. Philippines Foreign 
Secretary Alberto Del Rosario told us the storm was ``three and a half 
times the size of Katrina.''
  Several weeks ago, I led a congressional delegation to the 
Philippines to witness the devastation unleashed by Typhoon Haiyan--
known locally as Typhoon Yolanda--and to gain a better understanding of 
the unmet needs going forward.
  Joined by my distinguished colleagues Trent Franks and Al Green--and 
staff director Greg Simpkins and counsel Piero Tozzi--we were unanimous 
in our deep respect and abiding gratitude for the accomplishments of 
the U.S. military, USAID leaders, and NGOs on the ground including 
Catholic Relief Services--who alone has committed over $20 million to 
assist victims. For their part, the Philippine military was also 
playing a vital role along with the remnants of local governing bodies.
  In the immediate aftermath of the storm--right up until arrival--
highly motivated U.S. service members brought desperately needed 
supplies, including food, water, medicine, and housing materials by the 
planeload to the ruins of Tacloban, with homeless, destitute victims--
over 19,000 and counting--hitching flights back to Manila for safety 
and shelter.
  As was the case after the 2004 tsunami, the United States deployed an 
aircraft carrier--this

[[Page E1890]]

time the USS George Washington--and other major military assets to 
provide assistance. Smart, rapid response, combined with unique airlift 
capability has made all the difference in the world.
  In the Philippines, I had the privilege of meeting Col. Eric 
Mellinger, Chief of Staff of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force. I 
nominated Eric to the Academy in 1982--and it was clear watching him in 
action that he has earned extraordinary respect. His leadership--and 
that of Generals Kennedy and Wissler--ensured that a desperate, shell-
shocked population of victims got immediate, tangible help. Every 
Marine we saw, including three from New Jersey--Lance Cpl. Anthony 
Pellegrini, Lance Cpl. James Soccodato, and Lance Cpl. Michael Nappa--
was working around the clock to protect victims. ``Sleep--what's 
that?'' one Marine told me with a smile. ``We're saving lives.''
  Al Dwyer, Principal Regional Advisor for East Asia and the Pacific at 
the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Relief said ``when the U.S. hit 
the ground things got moving . . . this was a model response . . . we 
saved lives here--I know that for a fact.'' The cooperation and 
teamwork of the military and disaster assistance leaders from USAID, 
including Jeremy Konyndyk--Director of the Office of U.S. Foreign 
Disaster Assistance--who traveled with us, the NGO community, and 
Philippine officials was a textbook example of how disaster assistance 
ought to be done. But of course the relief efforts are far from over. 
The emergency phase has matriculated into recovery.
  With Donald Reilly from Catholic Relief Services, our delegation 
visited a sanitation kit distribution at a local parish church, and 
received a briefing from Mayor Remedios Petilla of Palo--whose daughter 
Jessica Petilla is a medical doctor in New Jersey--and met with 
numerous survivors who told us heartbreaking stories yet radiated a 
calm and inner peace. One man told us how his father drowned only a few 
feet from where we stood and how he had stoically carried many 
waterlogged dead bodies to a mass grave. He said he nearly collapsed 
emotionally however when he carried the lifeless body of a three year-
old girl. He said he just broke down, overwhelmed, and felt he could 
continue no more. Yet amazingly, a few hours later, there he was--
determined to rebuild and overcome and full of faith in God.
  That resiliency was best summed up by Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu 
who said ``the Typhoon was the strongest in the world . . . but our 
faith in the Lord is even stronger . . . no calamity or natural 
devastation can quench the fire of our hope. The Filipino soul is 
stronger than Yolanda.''
  Enroute from Tacloban to Manila aboard a C130 commanded by Major 
Jason Kauffman, our plane was diverted to seek the whereabouts and 
rescue of a helicopter that crashed into Manila Bay. After a flawless, 
just above the deck, systematic search for survivors in the water--kind 
of like looking for a needle in a haystack--the pilot spotted two 
individuals, opened the back end of the C130, and kicked out a yellow 
life raft to two lifejacketless swimmers. With night darkness fast 
approaching, it was clear that their lives had been saved. Aboard was 
the crew's superior officer, Colonel John Peck, 3rd Marine 
Expeditionary Brigade Chief of Staff, along with copilot Captain Kim 
and Crewmasters MSgt. Holdaway, Sgt. Weins, Cpl. Oliver, and LCpl 
Lopez.
  Back in Manila, we had productive meetings with both the Health 
Minister Enrique Ona and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del 
Rosario. Matt Bohn, Resident Country Director of the Millennium 
Challenge Corporation told us that roads that had been constructed 
pursuant to a $435 million 5-year MCC grant had been only minimally 
damaged but had provided--after debris removal--an additional artery 
for humanitarian aid.
  We also met with a plethora of NGOs and U.N. agencies. Our interest 
was not only in seeing how effective our emergency aid coordination has 
been throughout it all, but going forward where our assistance ought to 
be directed in the medium- and long-term. We felt that two areas 
deserved special attention: preventing or addressing potential 
epidemics and minimizing human trafficking.
  It normally takes two to three weeks for a marked increase in disease 
prevalence after a natural disaster such as the typhoon, but 
international health experts on the scene told us that dengue fever 
already was endemic in the storm-ravaged areas and could increase four- 
to five-fold in the coming weeks. In addition to dengue fever, cholera, 
hepatitis A, typhoid fever, leptospirosis, shigelosis, pneumonia and 
other diseases can proliferate in a post-storm environment. There are 
vaccines for cholera, hepatitis A and typhoid fever (as well as some 
other diseases likely to spread post-storm), but there are no such 
vaccines for dengue fever, leptospirosis or shigelosis.
  Efforts to address potential epidemics are complicated by several 
factors. First, the Philippines is undergoing a rainy season that will 
not only increase breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other disease-
bearing pests, but also will hamper relief efforts. Furthermore, the 
many residents without shelter or with inadequate shelter will be more 
susceptible to the elements. Second, the lack of electricity means no 
cold chain for medicines that must be refrigerated to remain usable. 
Third, many roads remain uncleared or badly damaged, making 
transportation for health workers or patients more difficult. Fourth, 
many Filipino health workers have either left the affected areas or 
died in the storm, and the continued presence of foreign health workers 
will depend on ongoing donor funding and the health needs demanded by 
subsequent crises elsewhere.
  Internationally-funded protection efforts currently focus on family 
reunification, personal identification and creation of safe spaces for 
women and children. USAID grantees are establishing women-friendly and 
child-friendly spaces in strategic locations to address the needs of 
women and adolescent girls, as well as male children. The lack of 
electricity and insecure housing raises their risk of falling prey to 
abusers, especially at night.
  However, while there is acknowledgement of the increased risk of 
human trafficking in the wake of the storm, the lack of reports of 
increased trafficking may be a good thing--or could mean that this 
issue is not yet a sufficient focus of protection efforts. This is 
despite the fact that the Philippines had a problem with human 
trafficking even before the latest typhoon. The Philippines was raised 
from Tier II Watch List to Tier II in the current human trafficking 
report by the Department of State. Nevertheless, that report states 
that trafficking of men, women, and children remains a significant 
problem, but child sex trafficking is a special danger, with children 
being forced to perform sex acts on the internet. Clearly, there needs 
to be more involvement of trafficking-in-persons experts on recovery 
planning teams.
  Also important will be providing shelter for the 1.2 million families 
whose homes have been damaged or destroyed. Schools have been so widely 
destroyed on Leyte that officials told us the school year may be over 
now--months before it normally would have ended in March. Livelihoods 
have been severely affected as the coconut industry--the leading 
agricultural producer--has been decimated, and it will take 5-7 years 
to replace the trees lost in this storm.
  The Philippines is a major American ally and trading partner. There 
are an estimated 350,000 Americans living in the Philippines, and 4 
million Filipinos living in the United States. We have an important 
stake in seeing that our friends and neighbors in the Philippines can 
recover from this devastating storm.

                          ____________________