TACLOBAN CITY- The Leyte II Electric Cooperative (Leyeco II) has already installed electricity in 6,014 permanent houses in the different ‘Yolanda’ resettlement sites under its coverage area comprising of Tacloban City and the towns of Palo and Babatngon.
More than 15,000 families from these areas lost their houses after super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ ravaged the region on November 13, 2013.
The National Housing Authority (NHA) was tasked to build houses for these families in resettlement areas identified by their respective local government units.
Christopher Garcia, institutional department head of Leyeco II, however, said that residents of Greendale Residences Projects 1, 2, and 3 in Barangay San Isidro, Suhi respectively and Salvacion Heights project in Brgy. Salvacion, Tigbao, all in Tacloban City, have yet to be lighted up.
Also, a resettlement site located in Brgy. San Jose, Palo has yet to be provided with power, Garcia added.
It was learned that the NHA and the National Electrification Administration (NEA) have set aside P38.70 million for the electrification of the 15,746 housing units in the 21 resettlement sites within the Leyeco II franchise area.
This reporter visited the NHA office to get more information on the status of the resettlement projects for Yolanda survivors but only to be told that an appointment must be made first to regional manager Rizalde Mediavillo and written questions must first be reviewed by them.
Here in Tacloban, NHA is to construct 14,400 houses for the same number of families but has only so far managed to relocate more than 9,000 families.
President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier ordered the NHA to finish its work by 2017, a directive which apparently it failed to accomplish.
(ALBERTO E. LESIGUEZ)
