Troops start building homes for evacuees
The military, in partnership with key government agencies, has started the construction of temporary houses for thousands of displaced families in Marawi City as part of the early recovery and rehabilitation process.
Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, on Monday said they were gradually shifting gear to help in the rehabilitation by pouring in more troops who will undertake rehabilitation works.
“Your soldiers are willing to risk their lives not only to make sure that Marawi City be free from terrorists, but also to speed up rehabilitation, so that shelters will be ready the soonest possible time,” Galvez said.
The Army’s 54th Engineer Brigade, Department of Public Works and Highways-10 (DPWH10) and the Marawi City Engineer’s Office started over the weekend the construction of two model houses.
A total of 5,000 temporary shelters for the Marawi evacuees will be built.
Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, Task Force Marawi spokesperson, on Monday said earth-moving works at the relocation site started a week ago.
DPWH-10 resident engineer Abdulracman Paunte said the house models are expected to be done after a week.
“There are two models of houses to be constructed. First is the steel house which has 26 square meters floor area and the other one is the wooden house which is made of lumber and plywood, with the dimension of 4 x 6 meters,” Paunte said.
“The steel house model is pre-fabricated and can accommodate three families per building. Construction time will run up to eight days,” he added.
The 11-hectare relocation site is located in Barangay Sagongsongan, Marawi City and is divided into five areas. A thousand units will be built in each area.
Paunte said each area has communal kitchens, comfort rooms and washing areas.
The electrical lines and water pipes are already being installed by the Lanao Del Sur Electric Company and the Local Water Utilities Administration.