TACLOBAN
CITY, Nov. 8 -- The national government is
eyeing to complete post-“Yolanda” permanent housing projects within two years
amid issues of substandard houses hounding the resettlement efforts.
Presidential
Assistant for Special Concerns Wendel Avisado said that most projects have been
bid out by the National Housing Authority (NHA), raising optimism that
construction would go full blast next year.
The NHA
reported that 95 percent of the 205,128 housing units needed for
"Yolanda"-hit central Philippines have already been bid out to
contractors as of end of October.
“We’re
doing our best to build the remaining houses and make sure that construction
materials are in good quality,” Avisado said in his speech during the 4th
"Yolanda" commemoration here Wednesday.
The
official assured of filing charges against contractors who built substandard
houses, particularly in Balangiga, Eastern Samar.
NHA
Eastern Visayas Regional Manager RizaldeMediavillo said accelerating housing
projects implementation is more attainable two years after the super typhoon.
“We are
over with those years of birth pain due to land acquisition issues delayed fund
allocations,” Mediavillo said.
For
Eastern Visayas alone, about 11,000 out of 56,000 target permanent houses for
typhoon survivors have been completed as of October. Most of these housing
units are in this city.
The NHA
targets to build 14,433 units in this city alone. About 8,000 houses have been
awarded to beneficiaries.
“Our
concern is not just building houses since there are sites where we will build basketball
courts and community centers if there are still available spaces,” Mediavillo
added.
On
November 8, 2013, super typhoon "Yolanda" unleashed its wrath in
central Philippines, killing around 6,300 people and leaving more than 4.4
million people displaced and homeless.
The city,
the regional hub of Eastern Visayas region, was considered as
"Yolanda’s" ground zero. (SQM/with reports from Mikaela
Angelica Ramirez & Christine Quimbo, OJTs/PNA)
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