NHA’s OK of relocation site sought

CLARIN, BOHOL, Philippines – Seven months had passed since the 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Bohol province, but several internally displaced persons are still languishing in make-shift tents in this town to this day.

This prompted Mayor Allen Ray Piezas to seek action from the National Housing Authority  in fast tracking the approval of the local government’s request for an 8-hectare lot for a relocation site of these IDPs.

“This (lot) may cost millions of pesos while the owner still has the desire to sell them to municipal government, said Piezas, as he expressed hope and optimism the agency will eventually approve it.

The prospective lot is located at Barangay Buacao, near the border of Tubigon town, he said, adding that it will cost the government P500 per square meter, although the owner was prevailed upon to sell it at a lower price for humanitarian consideration.

The IDPs here hoped that this may the only assistance the government may provide for them because they could not avail of any anymore since they were recipients of private sectors’ help.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development strictly banned extending help to the victims for core house rebuilding if the would-be beneficiary has already received from the private sector or from other sources, aside from the government.

Piezas said he submitted a list of more than 3,000 residents whose houses were destroyed by the earthquake, but the DSWD trimmed it to only 1,964, under the partially damaged houses. Only 316 out of 604 totally damaged houses were validated, he said.

However, the International Organization for Migration  came into the rescue, in a way, by providing a meager P23,000 worth of materials for the rebuilding of these damaged houses.

A total of 34 families or 195 IDPs, who are still living now in a “tent city” at Camp Zafraka in Brgy. Tangaran of this town, according to camp manager Mary Jane Quirol in an exclusive interview with The Freeman.

Barangay Chairperson Julita Miano, who has been monitoring the daily grind of carpenters in erecting nipa huts, confirmed this matter in a separate interview.

The IDPs however admitted they could not go far from their original place, the coastal sitio of Baybay that is about 500 meters from their camp, because most of them are fishermen. (FREEMAN)