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
DSWD Chief Revisits Tacloban City To Personally Check Housing Projects For Yolanda Survivors
Reviewed by Yen
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January 17, 2017
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