Aquino to inspect works in relocation sites

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III will be arriving in Cagayan de Oro today, Wednesday, to personally inspect the ongoing earthworks at the relocation sites in Barangays Lumbia and Canitoan.

Upon his arrival at the Lumbia Airport, the President will visit first Iligan City to inspect the Bayanihan Village for the affected residents of Tropical Storm Sendong in the area.

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Aquino will fly back to Cagayan de Oro in the afternoon to inaugurate the initial four houses constructed by the Habitat for Humanity Philippines Foundation at the relocation site in Sitio Calaanan, Barangay Canitoan. He is expected to join the volunteers in the actual building of the houses.

The President will then proceed to Lumbia Xavier Ecoville for an inspection on another relocation site.

This is the second visit of Aquino after Tropical Storm Sendong ravaged most areas in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities last December 16 and 17, 2011.

During his visit on December 20, the President personally supervised the government’s relief efforts and assessed the damage wrought by “Sendong”.

Aquino was earlier criticized for not visiting flood-stricken areas in Northern Mindanao immediately.

However, Malacañang said Aquino wanted to visit Mindanao as early as he can but was advised by the Presidential Security Group as well as the Department of National Defense to reschedule his trip due to bad weather.

Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano said the four initial houses at the relocation site in Sitio Calaanan will be raffled off to the flood victims.

Emano said the raffling of the four houses was already held on Monday, spearheaded by City Councilors President Elipe and Nadya Emano-Elipe and representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Housing Authority (NHA).

The four beneficiaries of the initial houses are the families of Fortunata Jaca, Virginia Valdehueza, Lourdes Mata and Claudio Go, all residents of Sitio Tibasak in Barangay Macasandig.

Ving Mayoralgo, program staff of Habitat for Humanity Philippines Foundation disaster response team, said they have pledged around 1,700 houses to the City Government, which are expected to be finished by April as mandated by DSWD.

Mayoralgo said they are willing to construct as many as 6,000 houses for the “Sendong” victims.

Related to this, the foundation has also coordinated with its local affiliates in providing repair kits to flood victims whose houses have been partially damaged.

Mayoralgo said last week, they already provided around 400 repair kits to identified beneficiaries in barangays Kauswagan and Bulua.

By next week, he said they will visit Iligan City to provide 107 repair kits to affected residents in Barangay Hinaplanon.

The repair kits contain hammer, handsaw, Hardiflex, GI sheets, nails and woods.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit, non-stock organization established in 1988 that aims to build communities by providing decent and durable houses for the economically lowest families in the Philippines.

Mayoralgo said their organization works in partnership with local celebrities like Kris Aquino, Manny Pacquiao, Karen Davila, Derek Ramsey, Margie Moran-Floriendo and Don Fernando Zobel de Ayala, among other donors.