NHA turns over houses to ‘Pablo-devastated’ families in Cateel

MATI CITY, Davao Oriental, Dec. 1 — Some 538 housing units implemented under the Resettlement Project of the National Housing Authority (NHA) were recently turned over to beneficiaries in three villages in typhoon Pablo-ravaged town of Cateel.

Task Force Pablo Chairman and Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras personally turned over the new housing units to the grateful recipients of barangays San Antonio, San Alfonso, and Taytayan.

Housing recipients said they are very much thankful for receiving these homes as this mark the start of a new beginning for them.

“Now that we are given the security of a home, we can now focus more in our livelihood,” said one beneficiary whose house was torn apart by typhoon Pablo in 2012.

NHA General Manager Chito Cruz said the agency targets a total of more than 17,000 houses to be built in the Pablo-affected provinces of Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley. 

To date, a total of 10,000 housing have already been completed in these two provinces.

NHA assured that about 3,750 units will be completed by the end of the year, while the remaining 3,000 will be finished before March next year.

For Davao Oriental alone, there are 3,091 duplex type housing units which have been constructed. 

NHA also sets a total of 1,000 housing units to be finished before summer next year in all three hard-hit towns of Boston, Cateel and Baganga.

Built under the principle of Building Back Better, the 20-square meter duplex-type houses are equipped with power supply, water system, and comfort rooms with septic tank.

The resettlement sites have also concrete roads and a drainage system. “We ensure that the families are provided with proper, safe and beautiful permanent homes,” Cruz said.

“Building these homes is in line with the mandate of President Benigno S. Aquino III to provide assistance to programs for the rehabilitation of typhoon Pablo-devastated areas,” he added.

During the turn over ceremony, Sec. Almendras lauded the residents’ resilience and courage to keep moving on. “It has only been two years but then everything has already been rebuilt, not just the houses and infrastructures but also the lives of the people,” he stated.

“This is a concrete evidence that if we Filipinos help each other, then we can do anything,” said Sec. Almendras, noting the remarkable transition of Davao Oriental after the unimaginable devastation it endured during the typhoon Pablo onslaught.

Sec. Almendras also lauded the efforts of the whole provincial government, under the leadership of Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon, for the outstanding recovery it showed.

Gov. Malanyaon also thanked the Cabinet Secretary for his dedication and support to the province.

She underscored the Task Force Pablo’s role in helping channel funds from different agencies to the province’s rehabilitation.

“All these remarkable developments here in the hard-hit towns would not have been possible without the national government backing up our rehabilitation efforts. They truly became instrumental in our fast recovery and helped us stand on our feet to move on and move up,” the governor said. (PIO-DavOr)