Ormoc earthquake evacuees return home
AT LEAST 139 families who have been living in 13 evacuation centers in Ormoc City after the magnitude 6.5 earthquake last July 7 were given clearance to return to their homes on Saturday. Ciriaco E. Tolibao II, city disaster risk reduction management officer, said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has certified that dwellers in Puroks 1,2, 3 and 4 of Barangay Lake Danao can now be allowed to return home, except those living in 45 houses that have been declared “unsafe.” The decision to allow the evacuees to return home was reached by the technical working group on earthquake recovery and rehabilitation chaired by Councilor Benjamin Pongos, Jr. Mr. Tolibao said another 311 families from the declared “danger zones” of Puroks 5,6,7 and 8 are also poised to leave evacuation centers, not homebound but off to a temporary relocation area in Barangay Lake Danao, which has been declared “safe” by the MGB. Temporary learning centers will also be put up in Lake Danao for the displaced children as the primary school in the area had been declared unsafe for any use. For another 267 families from Barangay Milagro, their stay at the evacuation camps will be extended as their homes have been declared “uninhabitable” by the MGB. These are houses lining the cliffs along the highway’s upland areas, some of which have already tumbled down the ravine. The city is still looking for an area for their temporary shelters. City legal counsel Jasper M. Lucero said Mayor Richard I. Gomez has directed to make this a priority but acquiring lots is not easy given government procedures and problems with properties registered under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. The National Housing Authority, for its part, said it is ready with the funds to construct at least 887 houses for the earthquake victims. About 2,272 families in the city were affected by the earthquake. —