GK heads to Daanbantayan; relocation sites approved

CEBU, Philippines -  Six months since super typhoon Yolanda devastated some parts of the Visayas, rehabilitation in Daanbantayan town in northern Cebu still has a long way to go, especially in rebuilding homes.

 â€œWe are slowly moving forward. If you ask me of a percentage, I could not even give you one. We are very, very far from being fully recovered,” Daanbantayan Mayor Augusto Corro yesterday said in an interview before the opening of GK Bayani Challenge Daanbantayan leg.

 According to a survey conducted after the super typhoon, the local government unit of Daanbantayan has identified 21,500 households in the entire town affected by Yolanda. This households are scattered in 20 barangays, 15 of which are coastal and two are island barangays, Corro said.

 â€œIn these coastal barangays, there are about 3,000 to 4,000 households within what we call a No Build Zone. So far, we only have three relocation sites which is good for 500 houses. There are other commitments for onsite building of houses. Like the Japanese Red Cross, which pledged 300 houses: 150 onsite rebuilding ofhouses and another 150 for repair,” the mayor explained.

 The three relocation sites for Daanbatayan are Barangay Agujo good for 75 houses, Barangay Paypay good for 128 units, and Poblacion good for 130 houses.

 Corro said Agujo construction has been ongoing for a month now, while groundbreaking has already been done for Paypay.

 The one in Poblacion, in partnership with Gawad Kalinga, is still in the process of finalizing legal requirement. Corro said they would have wanted to jointly hold the groundbreaking at yesterday’s launching of its Bayani Challenge leg but had to be postponed.

 GK Bayani Challenge Daanbantayan leg, running from May 21 to 24, involves school refurbishing, livelihood training, coastal cleanup, paraisong pambata (school children feeding and school supplies distribution), zumba exercise among others.

 After Daanbantayan, the next town to benefit Bayani Challenge are Sogod (May 28-Jun 1), San Remegio (Jun 4-8), and Bogo (June 8-12).

 Previous holding of this activity in Cebu were Bantayan Island which drew 8,000 volunteers, Tabuelan with 4,000 volunteers, Medellin with 1,200, and the most recent on in Daanbantayan hopes to gather 8,000, Awit said.

 Meanwhile, Corro shared that the fund intended for the repair of the town’s municipal hall, public market, and cultural center all damaged by Yolanda amounting to P7.5 million is already in their possession ready for implementation.

 This is part of the rehabilitation assistance from the Department of Interior and Local Governance.

 â€œAround two to three weeks ago, the check amounting to P7.5 million was already turned over to our municipality from DILG. Repair of the public market is already ongoing,” the mayor said.

 Furthermore, municipalities that are affected by Yolanda are now granted with relocation site after the approval of the memorandum of agreement between The National Housing authority and the affected municipalities.

 Yolanda affected municipalities will have to look and buy an area for relocation and rehabilitation. The NHA will then allocate a budget in developing and building of houses.

 Most of the municipalities who already availed the program include San Remigio with a number of 700 units, 2500 units in Bogo City, and 1,182 in Daanbantayan.

The Island of Bantayan and the Camotes have not yet availed of the program because of NHA requirements. It requires that the relocation site should be titled and should belong to the municipality. Most of the vacant lots in the said municipalities are have no owners. — (FREEMAN)