Materials for resettlement houses not substandard: Habitat

HABITAT for Humanity Foundation denied allegations that the materials used in building the resettlement houses for ‘Sendong’ survivors in Cagayan de Oro are substandard.

Twenty-four houses at the Calaanan permanent relocation site in Barangay Canitoan and less than 20 houses in Barangay Indahag constructed by Habitat reportedly cracked after the intensity four earthquake that hit the city Friday last week.

A day after the earthquake, some residents in Calaanan, who refused to be named, complained about the damage brought by the tremor.

They said their houses were constructed from “substandard materials and sloppy work” done by Habitat.

But David Liban Jr., Habitat for Humanity Foundation Disaster Response manager, said that immediately after receiving the complaints, the construction team went to the affected houses and checked on the extent of the damage.

Liban said based on their assessment, only four houses were damaged while the rest only had “surface cracks,” including those at the Calaanan relocation site.

He added that the damages are now being repaired by their team.

Earlier, another group of residents from the same area also complained that their houses started to crack even if they only transferred in late April.

One resident complained that their floor caved in and that an electrician reportedly fell from a roof after trying to hold onto a metal beam that was not welded properly.

Liban admitted that the complaints were true but denied claims that they used low-cost materials for the construction of the houses.

He also said they have already taken action to address the complaints.

“The four houses that were considered ‘damaged’ out of the thousands that we constructed do not even account to one percent of the ratio,” Liban said, adding that it is normal for any construction to have technical problems.

However, he assured that all materials are not of low cost and that the materials they used were of good quality.

“In fact, instead of using GI sheets, we used pre-painted roof for the roofing, Cpourlanes for the ceilings instead of coco lumber and granite cements instead of ordinary smooth finish to make sure that we build quality houses,” Liban said.

He added: “Why would we cheat in building the houses when it would only give our foundation a bad name?”

He claimed that Habitat is in service for 25 years and that they would have not reached that far if their benefactors do not trust them.