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9,518 Houses For Yolanda Survivors In Bantayan Island Ready For Construction


Construction of houses for survivors of super typhoon Yolanda in Bantayan Island can now proceed.

The Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 28 has directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to resume the issuance of certificates of non-coverage and environmental compliance certificates on all constructions and projects in Bantayan Island.

With the court order, the 9,518 housing units for Yolanda survivors can now be built by developers accredited by the National Housing Authority (NHA) without any legal impediment.

Of the 9,518 housing units: 3,520 are for the Municipality of Bantayan; 3,693 for Madridejos; 2,305 for Sta. Fe.


Not a single house has been completed three years after the typhoon struck on November 8, 2013.

Presiding Judge Mercedita G. Dadole-Ygnacio issued the order after the DENR submitted the General Management Plan (GMP) for Bantayan Area Wilderness Area (BIWA).

As this developed, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino said the court order will pave the way for the construction of the houses for the families displaced by the typhoon.

The court order was issued nine days after Dino visited Bantayan Island and discovered that a mandamus stalled the construction of the housing units.

Furthermore, the housing projects were delayed because the island was declared a wilderness area, and permits for the construction projects could not be issued.

In the order, the court incorporated in the GMP the new supplemental plan for easement zones and the amended easement zone plan, together with the memorandum signed by DENR Secretary Regina Lopez approving the GMP.

The court considered this as full compliance with the court’s order dated September 30, 2013.

Moreover, records showed that on September 30, 2013, then RTC 28 Presiding Judge Raphael Yrastorza Sr. issued a permanent protection order and continuing mandamus enjoining defendant DENR from accepting, processing and approving applications for certificates of non-coverage and environmental compliance certificates on all constructions and projects in Bantayan Island until the GMP is approved by the DENR secretary and until the agency complies with RA 7586.

During a conference on August 17, 2016, lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr. and other petitioners reiterated that they do not object to the resettlement projects provided that these are outside the protected area.

The DENR undertook to submit the required supplemental plan as stated in the memorandum dated January 11, 2016 for the BIWA and a certification that the proposed resettlement area of the NHA is outside the protected area in Bantayan Island, which was both granted by the court.

On September 1, 2016, DENR filed a manifestation and motion together with a certification dated August 19, 2016 stating that the proposed sites applied by NHA under the Typhoon Yolanda Permanent Housing Program are presently within the multiple-use-zone of BIWA under Presidential Proclamation 2151.

However, the project will be outside the protected area under the proposed amendments of BIWA.

In the hearing last November 29, the DENR finally submitted the original copy of the memorandum of Secretary Lopez approving the GMP of BIWA, including the required supplemental plans, finding that all requirements are completed.

Dino said he expects a massive and continuous construction of all Yolanda housing units with the court order for DENR to accept process and approve the certificates.

Last month, the NHA-accredited land developers promised Dino that they will turn over 103 houses in Bantayan town, 36 units in Daanbantayan and 31 units in Medellin during the Christmas season.

Source: Sunstar
9,518 Houses For Yolanda Survivors In Bantayan Island Ready For Construction 9,518 Houses For Yolanda Survivors In Bantayan Island Ready For Construction Reviewed by Yen on December 03, 2016 Rating: 5

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