OVER 928 families, who are residing in the flood-prone areas in Masantol coastal town, are set to be relocated to a housing project in Barangay San Nicolas.
The National Housing Authority (NHA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the local government of Pampanga recently convened the prospective beneficiaries of the six-hectare housing project, dubbed Golden Residences Masantol.
NHA Central Luzon Action District Manager Ines Gonzales said each house will stand on a 40.5 square-meter lot and will have its own toilet and bathroom, kitchen sink, receiving area, and two bedrooms to comfortably accommodate a family of up to six members.
Gonzales added that at least nine houses will have facilities that would cater to the needs of persons-with-disabilities (PWDs) such as ramps for wheelchairs, among others, while at least 40 houses will have a built-in sari-sari store for those who would like to start a home business.
“We would like to provide a community that will be conducive for living for every beneficiary, may they be a working group, small entrepreneurs and our senior citizens and PWD Kabalens to ensure that they will have smooth transition as they relocate,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales also noted that each of the houses will have its own water and electricity meter, and its application for the local water and power suppliers connection will be free of charge provided that the beneficiaries will apply for it.
DPWH Project Manager Gil Pamintuan, for his part, assured the beneficiaries that the relocation site will also include school buildings, health centers, livelihood training centers, mini market, a covered court, park with playground, and wide concrete roads.
Pamintuan stressed that the area, located along the Pampanga Delta Dike, is safe from flash floods and other natural disasters, and is conducive to living which was the main purpose of the constructing the relocation site.
“In public works, our main concern is to provide the necessary facilities to ensure that the site will comfortably accommodate the beneficiaries and ensure their safety and security from flooding which is the major problem in their current community,” he said.
The beneficiaries of the Golden Residences Masantol are families currently residing in Barangays Sto. Niño, Sta. Lucia Matua, Paguiba, Sua, and Bebe Anac who will be affected by the major flood control project to be undertaken by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corporation.
The project is expected to be completed in 2019, in time for the full implementation of the widening of Sapang Maragul, a tributary of the Pampanga’s Third River channel which would stretch up to Sto. Tomas town.