Taal Victims Receive New Homes from DHSUD

Almost 200 families displaced by the eruption of Taal Volcano have found new homes at a government resettlement area in Ibaan, Batangas.

Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo D. Del Rosario said that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved the awarding of the housing units for free.

“The President will give out these housing units for free, in full grant and the occupants are not going pay anything upon their transfer,” Secretary Del Rosario said.

There are about 6,000 households affected by Taal Volcano’s eruption but the DHSUD, through the National Housing Authority (NHA), has already offered a total of 5,448 housing units to the families most affected by the Taal Volcano eruption.

So far, a total of 187 families have already relocated to the NHA site in Ibaan–out of the danger zone. The available 5,448 housing units are situated in the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Cavite and Quezon.

Secretary Del Rosario said that a team from the NHA is now working double time to repair some units and install water and electricity to ensure that the units will be ready. He added that the rehabilitation of some units would be done within one to two months.

Moreover, President Duterte earlier said that residents living within Taal Volcano’s danger zone would be permanently relocated to the unoccupied housing units originally allotted for military and police personnel.

Secretary Del Rosario affirmed that the personnel of DHSUD and NHA, along with local officials of Batangas, are working closely to establish a mechanism for the resettlement of these residents, particularly those living on Taal Volcano Island and in the municipalities of Talisay, Agoncillo and Laurel. He further stressed the danger poses by Taal Volcano especially within the seven-kilometer radius identified by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

There are about 2,000 families living on the island volcano of Taal prior to its eruption on 12 January which prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of families to safer grounds. “The government only wants to ensure the safety of our people,” Secretary Del Rosario concluded. (DHSUD)