1,000 houses to be built for Leyte quake victims

ORMOC CITY, Philippines – The National Housing Authority (NHA) has approved the funding to build houses for victims of the magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Ormoc City and Kananga town in Leyte.

Rizalde Mediavillo, NHA regional manager, recently met with Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez and Councilor Mario Rodriguez and presented the plan for an initial 887 row houses to be built in Ormoc. At least 211 houses will be built for quake victims in Kananga town.  

Mediavillo said each house has a floor area of 22 square meters that can accommodate a loft to extend it to 40 square meters. He said they could not accommodate Gomez’s proposal for a bigger floor area because approval of the plan will take time.

Mediavillo said the NHA is allocating P290,000 per unit, including the cost of the lot and site development. He gave assurance that additional housing units would be built as soon as relocation sites have been identified.

At least 2,272 families affected by the quake in Ormoc are staying in evacuation centers.