THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to start the construction of bunkhouses this week in a west coast village in Zamboanga City to house the families displaced by last month’s standoff.
Thousands of families were displaced by the standoff when hundreds of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels infiltrated the city last September 9.
DSWD-Zamboanga Peninsula Director Zenaida Arevalo said 45 bunkhouses will be constructed in the village of Tulungatung.
Arevalo said that 26 of the 45 bunkhouses will be constructed by the Army’s 52nd Engineering Brigade, while the rest by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
She said the bunkhouses will have 12 rooms each, five cubicles for latrines and two bathing rooms. The 45 bunkhouses can accommodate 8,100 individuals.
Meanwhile, Arevalo disclosed that the number of bunkhouses to be constructed at the Mayor Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex has been reduced to 10 units due to health and sanitation problems.
Eight of the 10 units have been completed, she added.
The original plan is to construct 41 bunkhouses at the sports complex, and Arevalo said the remaining units will be built in Barangay Tulungatung.
The sports complex has served as the biggest evacuation center at the height of last month’s standoff. At present, around 4,000 families are still staying at the complex.