Baybay City to build 3 gyms-cum-evacuation centers

BAYBAY CITY, Leyte, March 6 (PNA) – The city government here will build this year three more gymnasiums that could be used as evacuation centers to avoid disruption of classes after natural calamities.

Mayor Carmen Cari said new facilities will rise in populated Hipusngo, Monterico and Lintaun villages.

Almost all of the 92 villages in the city have their own gymnasium used as evacuation centers during emergencies. As a result, classrooms are not anymore default evacuation centers in the city. 

The city government will start the construction soon in Hipusngo village, located about two kilometers away from the city proper. The city government recently acquired a 1,000 square meter lot for the building. 

“The fund will be taken from our 2017 budget as part of our annual investment plan,” Cari said. 

Construction of each gymnasium cum evacuation center will cost PHP3 to PHP4 million. It has more rest rooms and a kitchen, according to the mayor. 

“Lot is really a problem in the construction of facilities like this. This is very common especially in villages within or near the city’s commercial districts,” she added.

The city pushed for the building of gymnasiums-cum-evacuation centers to ensure that classes will immediately resume after disasters since there are no displaced families taking shelter in learning facilities. 

Earlier, the local government completed the repair of eight gymnasiums destroyed by super typhoon Yolanda on Nov. 8, 2013. The re-construction of these facilities was funded under the Recovery Assistance on Yolanda budget from the Department of the Interior and Local Government. 

Baybay, situated on the western coast of Leyte, immediately fronting the Camotes Island, is about 107 kilometers southwest of Tacloban City, the regional capital. The city has a population of more than 109,000 living in 82 rural villages and 10 urban areas.(PNA)
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