Government builds new home for coastal folks
MASANTOL - A former vast marshland in Barangay Bebe Anac here is slowly being transformed into a small village that will soon house hundreds of Kapampangan families currently residing along the coast.
This, as the National Housing Authority (NHA) in partnership with the local government here are building hundreds of houses for the relocation of families away from the threat of flash floods and water surges during the rainy season.
Mayor Danilo Guintu said that the NHA has started constructing 950 houses and various government facilities and recreational areas in the six-hectare lot along the Pampanga River dike.
The beneficiaries would be families residing along the riverbanks of Sapang Maragul in the northeastern part of Masantol
which will be affected by the major flood control project to be undertaken by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corporation, Guintu disclosed.
“We are foreseeing at least 500 families from barangays Sta. Cruz, Cambasi, Bebe Anac, Sua and Palimpe who will be affected in the widening of Sapang Maragul. We already partnered with the NHA to provide a decent and safe housing for those that will be relocated,” said Guintu.
There will also be residents from the coastal villages of Macabebe town who were affected by the implementation of the Supreme Court mandamus ordering the clearing of Pampanga River from any obstruction that will be relocated in the said site.
Aside from the houses, the project will also include school buildings, health centers, livelihood training centers, mini market, a covered court, park with playground and concrete road pavements to complete the proposed community dubbed “Golden Residences Masantol.”
The project is expected to be completed in 2019 in time for the full implementation of the widening of Sapang Maragul, a tributary of the Pampanga’s Third River channel which would stretch up to Sto. Tomas town.
“Our goal is to provide a win-win program for our constituents. In this case, we will be solving our perennial problem in flooding without disadvantaging any of our constituents,” Guintu said.