DSWD Chief Revisits Tacloban City To Personally Check Housing Projects For Yolanda Survivors

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo flew to Tacloban City on Thursday, January 12, to check on the status of construction of the DSWD-assisted shelter project for survivors of Typhoon Yolanda.

The Department shelled out a total of P38,500,000 as its counterpart fund for the construction of 550 permanent and disaster-resilient homes at the Pope Francis Village in Barangay Diit, Tacloban City. A housing unit costs P300,000 for the structure alone, of which P70,000 of the total unit cost came from the DSWD.

The rest of the funding came from the consortium of international humanitarian organizations – the Associates of the Urban Poor, Archdiocese of Palo, Redemptorist Fathers, CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace, Development and Peace.

During a short interaction with the beneficiaries, Secretary Taguiwalo lauded their deep involvement in the ongoing construction of the homes.

In her speech, the Secretary highlighted the importance of “Sama-samang Pagkilos Para sa Pagbabago (Unity in Action for Change)” in establishing the resettlement project that will serve as a permanent residence of fishermen, market vendors, pedicab drivers and other families affected by ‘Yolanda’ from the districts of Magallanes and San Jose in Tacloban.

In addition, the consortium has already built a six-classroom school building worth P7 million and it now stands at the nearby compound of the Scandinavian National High School.

Secretary Taguiwalo also commended the importance of how the project is empowering ‘Yolanda’ survivors by means of people’s participation and skills training.

The DSWD and other funding organizations provided the cash incentive for the Cash-for-Work (CFW) scheme of P260 per day to partner-beneficiaries who underwent training on various skills such as masonry, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical installation.

According to Project Coordinator Ariel Nones, the project is contractorless. They only hired in-house engineers and employed the partner-beneficiaries as laborers. However, they plan to soon hire skilled manpower to hasten the construction of the housing units.

As of this time, there are already 14 units completed while 40 other units are still ongoing.

Lastly, Secretary Taguiwalo assured the beneficiaries that, “I don’t want you to be back from being homeless. Together, we will continue to prioritize the needs of the poor through initiatives that will allow them to become productive members of the society.”

Source: DSWD.Gov