800 Tacloban Families To Move To Their New Homes In Summer

More than two years after supertyphoon “Yolanda” flattened this city, 800 more families will move to permanent shelter in northern villages, an official of the National Housing Authority (NHA) said.

Marlyn Lauzon, NHA project manager said that starting March 29, families temporarily housed in bunkhouses will transfer to their permanent houses in Ridgeview Park 1 in Tagpuro village.

This has been approved during the meeting of the Sub-Local Inter-Agency Committee (Sub-LIAC) last March 3, which was attended by officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, NHA, and the City Housing Office, according to Lauzon.

Certificates of occupancy are now being readied by the City Engineer’s Office.

The Sub-LIAC hopes to transfer 40 families daily. The target is that by April 20, all bunkhouses would be empty.

Social Welfare Sec. Corazon Soliman was criticized for failure to transfer all the typhoon victims residing in temporary shelters by the end of 2015.

Lauzon said there were lots of challenges met by the committee hounding the transfer last year, but pointed out that the agency already transferred nearly 1,000 households to their permanent shelters.

The priority of the government to be transferred is in no-build zones identified by the City DSWD office.

“The NHA is still on target and people should understand the process not blame the government on slow-paced implementation,” Lauzon said.

“In the beginning it was a big challenge for the agencies and its partners. Issues like land acquisition, site development, environmental certificate approval from Environmental Management Bureau and Mines Geosciences Bureau, drainage, sewerage, site evaluation among others,” she recalled.

“Not to mention, after Yolanda there were typhoons like Ruby (Hagupit), Nona and others plus the weather is either wet or more wet. But I tell you, the houses NHA built are resilient and typhoon resistant, aside from beautifully designed.”

She said that 747 families have already been transferred last year to different relocation sites – Kawayan Ville 1 and 3, Ridgeview Park, Sofia and Villa Diana Villages. (PNA) JMC/SQM/VICKY C. ARNAIZ/EGR