BUB Funded Evacuation Center Benefits 300 Households in Llorente Town

A Bottom-up-Budgeting (BUB) Evacuation Center Project in Llorente, Eastern Samar can accommodate over 300 families or 710 individuals evacuees.

During the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Eastern Samar led Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Media tour, DILG Provincial Director Visitacion Giba conducted the group on October 28, 2019.

Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management (MDRRM) Officer, Nelson Gopole said that the spacious Evacuation Center has basic amenities such as potable water, electricity, comfort rooms for males, females and persons with disabilities (PWDs), kitchen and laundry area.

Other equally important components of the said building include MDRRM Office and waiting room area for those mothers who will give birth especially from the far-flung barangays.

Gopole said that among their plans, they will use the center as a Command Center of DRRM and training venues for calamity drills and other disaster preparedness activities.

The building could also be used for trainings, product and trade exhibits, community meetings and other purposes when not being utilized as an Evacuation Center.

Gopole added that the building may also accommodate residents of upstream barangays prone to flooding like Hugpa, Barobo, Antipolo, Burac, Barubo, Canduros, Magtino, Maca-anga and Naubay.

The 2-storey building with 1,300 square meters, disaster resilient structures that can withstand strong typhoons and earthquakes.

During that program, Mayor Daniel C. Boco thanked the DILG for the BUB-funded facility project.

“I am very thankful and grateful to the DILG for giving us BUB fund, and to the CSOs to come-up with this priority project because of the onslaught of typhoons and destructive flooding in the whole municipality particularly to those families whose houses are not strong enough to endure the strong wind and flood waters, thus opted to construct an Evacuation Center to secure a safe temporary shelter for displaced families in times of calamities and disasters,” Mayor Boco said.

Mayor Boco added that Llorente is vulnerable to typhoons and destructive flooding as it faces the Pacific Ocean, “this is why we need this project to safeguard my constituents.”

The total project cost is P20-M, wherein P15-M is funded from BUB of DILG and P5-M is funded from Local Government Unit (LGU) through their 20% Economic Development Fund (EDF) as counterpart.

Mr. Tito Somooc, a resident of Brgy. 3- Poblacion, said that prior to the construction of the Evacuation Center, residents only have a school classrooms and government structures such as municipal building, legislative building, and highest concrete house building to take refuge in during typhoons and floods.

“With the completion of the facility, we are now assured of a safe shelter which is located in an elevated area and structurally designed to withstand strong typhoons and even earthquakes,” Somooc said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Miles Joseph Colasito, Regional Information Officer of DILG-8, said that the BUB aims to help promoting transparency and accountability of LGUs, increase awareness and appreciation extended assistance to the LGUs, and strengthen the relations between the CSOs, Media and LGUs.

“The main objective of this BUB is promoting a culture of good governance,” Colasito added. (nbq/SDC/PIA-E. Samar)