Still no relocation, a year after Naga landslide
CEBU, Philippines — Almost a year after the massive landslide that buried over 20 houses in Barangays Tinaan and Naalad, City of Naga, the government has yet to construct the relocation sites for the displaced residents.
The city government of Naga, and the National Housing Authority (NHA) have vowed to construct 50 and 190 housing units, respectively, in Barangay Tinaan.
Mayor Valdemar Chiong, in an interview, said the city government is now “in the process” of building the resettlement site.
He said landslide-affected families or those living within the 170-hectare critical zone delineated by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) were given two options—relocation site or financial aid.
“They had two options. They wait for the relocation or we give them financial assistance,” he said.
He said many families opted to look for their new homes.
In fact, he said, the provincial government has released P70 to P80 million in financial assistance for over half of the 444 affected residents, who chose to find a place of their own.
Just like the city government, NHA has yet to start the construction of the relocation site.
Chiong said the NHA is now in the pre-bidding process for the construction of 190 houses. Each unit has 50-square-meter lot area and 26-square-meter floor area.
The NHA-funded housing units would be constructed on the Balili property in Barangay Tinaan.
The province of Cebu donated 2.1 hectares of the Balili property for the NHA housing area.
On September 20, 2018, a landslide hit Barangays Naalad and Tinaan, where a private mining firm reportedly had quarry operations. It killed at least 78 residents, and injured 18, while five more were declared missing.— KBQ (FREEMAN)
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