"When I built my beach house I used the US NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) storm surge guide for coastal buildings and built the house twice as high as the recommended 17 feet above sea level for storm surges. And then added two more feet for extra measure. It's just common sense and a little research." said Antonio Lilles, a residential home builder.
"We need to invest in technological solutions like low-cost housing with climate-proof materials. We've seen this in places like Guam." said Toby Monsod, an economics professor at the University of the Philippines in Manila.
Roberto Lilles, Antonio's older brother and a successful architect, agrees that much of the wreckage from dozens of typhoons that strike each year could be greatly reduced if low-cost, brick-and-mortar housing replaced the traditional flimsy wood and tin-roof homes.
"There is low-cost housing that can resist the storms. But most people in those rural areas are so poor, they still can't afford them," he explained.
But if private builders like the Lilles brothers find low-cost housing schemes unprofitable, why doesn't the Philippine government subsidise them? The poor are not a priority for capitalist governments.
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