Codilla donates own lots to solve city residents’ resettlement woes

ORMOC CITY, Philippines — Mayor Edward Codilla had offered his two lots in Barangays Conception and Can-untog as sites for the building of transition shelters or bunkhouses to solve the problem of Yolanda-affected residents and even informal settlers.

The project was in coordination with national and local government agencies and the international community, he said, adding that the two sites are now in operation, with vehicles ferrying residents to and from these areas.

In a recent interview with Codilla about his family’s donation of a 50-hectare lot located in Barangay Liloan for permanent housing project, he said: “We received blessings from God, through the Our Lady of Fatima, so we are sharing these to our brethren.”

The mayor’s plan will be to free Ormoc City of squatters and he intended to fulfill this dream by either tapping the government agencies in partnership with the private sector or utilizing his own resources, or the combination of both.

“We have already sorted a 12-hectare out of the total area to be develop first so that another group of our informal settlers can be transferred the soonest possible time,” he told The Freeman.

Codilla also encouraged other city residents, especially “those who have vast landholdings and are so-called servants of Ormocanons” to also contemplate and share a portion of  their properties to the needy.

“We are fortunate compared to our political co-leaders in the eastern part of Leyte who have difficulty in acquiring lands for resettlement projects, because we still have available lands for our brethren to dwell. We only need to act on it,” he added.

The mayor and his wife Violy earlier worked to convince the Tzu Chi Foundation of Taiwan to build the houses and develop the donated land for the Ormocanons. As such, the rehabilitation process of the city is now moving forward in a steady pace, he said, adding that Tzu Chi already spent more than P1.2 billion for  Yolanda response. (FREEMAN)