Retired priest builds houses for Bohol quake survivors

CEBU, Philippines – Being wheelchair-bound has not stopped a retired priest from building houses for Bohol residents affected by the magnitude 7.2 quake in October 2013, a GMA-7 report said.

Father Fernando Po—not the late action star—is leading a team now building 12 core houses for quake survivors in Barangay Kang-iras in Catigbian town.

“It’s bayanihan. The 12 recipient families will build together core houses, one at a time, until the targeted number is completed,” Po said of the endeavor, according to an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site.

The CBCP quoted Po as saying the barangay is at the province’s highest point, but roads leading there are bad. Also, recent cyclones make it hard as well to transport construction materials.

Po added that, while he initially planned to construct only 10 houses, two couples asked them to build two more for them. He said the core houses are one-room shelters, which can accommodate a couple and three children. Each costs P10,000 with beneficiaries supplying the work.

So far, 10 of the core houses were funded by friends in Australia, while two were funded by the priest’s friends.

Po retired in 2004 after he lost his ability to walk following a blood transfusion. He handled three parishes in the United States before retiring.

The retired priest started building core houses for quake survivors in Bohol in May 2014. He has so far built 173 core houses in various quake-affected Bohol towns, including 138 as of November 2014.

These included 41 in Sandingan Island in Loon town, 20 in Catigbian, 10 in Tubigon, 70 in Maribojoc,16 in Sagbayan and 16 in Clarin.

Meanwhile, Po’s family provided relief goods to quake survivors in Loon, Maribojoc, Clarin, and Sagbayan.