CARIGARA, Leyte- The National Housing Authority (NHA) has suspended indefinitely the construction of a housing project in this town intended for families who lost their houses due to supertyphoon ‘Yolanda.’
This was disclosed by Mayor Eduardo Ong who issued an appeal to the NHA to reconsider its September 8 decision.
The resettlement project, located in Barangay Parag-um, was intended for families who totally lost their houses due to supertyphoon ‘Yolanda.’
The town mayor said that on September 8, he received a letter from the NHA informing him on the indefinite suspension of the resettlement project citing prevailing bad weather condition in the region.
“If it’s weather condition they are citing that’s occurring in the whole region, why just single out the Carigara project. Does it mean that it is only in Carigara that experiences heavy rains?” Ong said.
Ong described the NHA move as “unreasonable.”
The resettlement project is being undertaken by Markbilt Construction Trading and Development Corporation based in Cubao, Quezon City.
Mayor Ong said that he hope the NHA will reconsider its order considering that it affects the supposed beneficiaries of the projects.
The NHA is building a total of 3,224 housing units intended for families living in areas considered as flood-prone and in coastal villages in the town with a budget of P1 billion.
The other resettlement site is in Brgy. Sagkahan but the mayor does not know yet if this is also included in the suspended project.
He says the NHA order runs aground with the recent pronouncements by Vice President in her recent visit to Tacloban to fasttrack all resettlement projects so that families can already transfer and settlez in safer and better homes.
(AHLETTE C. REYES/LIZBETH ANN ABELLA)
