Yolanda housing construction slowly proceeding in Culion

The National Housing Authority (NHA) said recently they have already cleared three locations in Culion for the construction of housing units intended to benefit the 2013 Typhoon Yolanda victims. Amelia Romero, provincial head of NHA, told Palawan News on Wednesday the areas in Baldat, Galoc and Binudac have been readied for land development and will pave the way for putting up some 708 housing units. “Tapos na ang site clearing at ang Culion ay ready na for land development and housing construction,” she said. The planned construction, she explained, is part of the first batch of houses that are planned for construction. She said Culion still needs to identify other sites for an additional 1,456 housing units that will be built under the program’s second phase. “Kailangan lang sa Culion, dapat maghanap pa ng lupa sa phase 2, ang meron pa lang sa kanila ay phase 1,” she said. Romero said a total of 2,326 housing units will be constructed for the first batch of relocatees who will transfer homes in Culion, 618 units for Busuanga, and 1,000 units for Coron. She added the NHA’s allocated fund of P2.3 billion will be used for the construction of 8,500 housing units for Yolanda victims in Coron, Culion, Busuanga, Linapacan, and Agutaya. Each housing unit costs P275 thousand. An amount of P95 million, or 15 percent of the P2.3 billion fund, had already been downloaded to the provincial government, which is now in the bidding and procurement process under the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC). The role of the NHA in the Yolanda housing projects in Palawan, she explained, is to provide funding and technical assistance since the project is implemented by the provincial government. In Coron on the other hand, the site clearing by the provincial government is still ongoing in Barangay Guadalupe. Other towns are working out for the acquisition of lands intended for the housing projects like in the case of Busuanga. “Sa Busuanga naman ay pino-formalize na ng LGU ang pag-acquire ng lupa na gagamitin,” she explained. Linapacan, on the other hand, acquired a 1.6-hectare property but it did not pass the NHA standard. Romero said this is because the proposed site is risky and not suitable for a housing project. In Agutaya, she revealed that the housing project might not push through as it is hard to find a location. There are 200 housing units that had been allocated for the municipality. She further explained that the site for the housing project is the counterpart of the LGU.