NHA says to complete housing units for Zambo evacuees

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  - - The National Housing Authority (NHA) is optimistic that it will complete the construction ofthousands of housing units within 18 months for the  tens of thousands evacuees displaced by the hostility, according to an official.

City planning officer Rodrigo Sicat said the NHA 9 has been given the P2.566-billion rehabilitation funds for the construction of 1,152 two-storey building units, 1,189 duplex units worth P482.88 million, and 3,241 houses-on-stilts worth P486.15 million in addition to the substantial allocations for the purchase of the 38-hectare property to be developed for the housing in the devastated district.

NHA district manager Engr. Al Indanan said that of the P2.566 billion funds, about P800-million is allocated to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the construction of road networks, drainage systems, and other related infrastructure.

Indanan said P49.83-million was allocated for home materials assistance to 1,661 families who opted to reconstruct their houses by themselves.

The assistance will be ready for release by the end of this month, according to Indanan.

The protection cluster reported that 50,000 survivors have been living with host families, while about 26,000 others are still in the government supported evacuation centers and transit location.

Sicat reported that 50 percent of those in the evacuation centers are those from the three areas which have been declared as “no return” zones until the government completes its reconstruction plan.