TACLOBAN CITY- Rep. Florencio ‘Bem’ Noel’ of the An Waray party-list group said that he remains confident that families who remain settled in areas described as danger zones would be relocated to safer housing projects promised to them by the government.
Noel made this assertion after he questioned Sec. Eduardo del Rosario of the Department of Human Settlements during his confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.
According to the solon, he made it known to del Rosario of his dismay that there are still thousands of families who lost their houses due to the onslaught of super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ living in areas now considered as danger zones.
“He made a promise that he will deliver. We will charge him for that,” Noel said.
Rep. Noel admitted that considering that the national government through del Rosario’s office will be fully occupied in providing housing units to families displaced due to the war in Marawi City and the series of typhoons like in Bicol Region, Yolanda survivors might be neglected.
“While I understand that they will provide housing units to Bicol (for families who lost their houses due to typhoon Rolly), An Waray will always remain to supporting our own Warays who until now have yet to receive their own housing unit seven years after Yolanda’s onslaught,” the solon said.
Here in Tacloban, the city government under Mayor Alfred Romualdez has also called on the National Housing Authority (NHA) to turn over the completed housing units located in the different resettlement sites to the city government so these could be occupied by families still living in danger zones.
As of October 28 records of the City Housing and Community Development Office, out of the 12,793 housing units constructed by the NHA, 11,173 were awarded and of which 7,170 were said to be actually occupied by the beneficiaries.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
