Cash-for-work, lumber production proposed

KANANGA, LEYTE, Philippines - – A cash-for-work and lumber production project is now being pushed by the municipal government to hasten the construction and rehabilitation of 8,830 destroyed and 4,457 partially damaged houses in this town, which comprises 14, 829 households.

Mayor Elmer Codilla, in a proposal submitted to the UN Development Program-Philippines Typhoon Yolanda Early Recovery Program and the DSWD, said the typhoon has left a trail of devastation to households, roads, agriculture, livestock and infrastructures, as well as uprooted trees that destroyed the farms of this town.

Processing of these fallen trees, including coconuts, will be beneficial to those affected who do not have the means to clear their own areas and purchase materials to repair their houses and farms.

Under the Codilla proposal, the UNDP will provide the chainsaw, fuel and lubricants, while the DSWD will take charge in project implementation. The beneficiaries, for their part, upon receipt of their wages will pay the owner of the uprooted or fallen trees they processed.

The processing of the uprooted trees will include cutting, slicing according to usage and hauling of the lumber.

The processed lumbers will then be utilized in the construction and rehabilitation of totally and partially damaged houses of the residents.

Kananga, which has 23 barangays, is an agricultural town located about 22 kilometers east of Ormoc City. It also hosts the Leyte Geothermal Fields and vast sugarcane and pineapple plantations.  (FREEMAN)