LEGAZPI CITY — Local officials here are fine-tuning all documents for the construction of a housing project for the city’s poorest families, Mayor Noel E. Rosal said Wednesday.
In an interview, he said his administration will construct another 40 houses at the resettlement site in Barangay Taysan, located in the southern portion of this city, after Mandaluyong City Mayor Carmelita Abalos earlier handed over a PHP2-million support fund for the project.
Abalos noted that the amount came from the Ciera Marie Foundation named after her daughter Ciera, who died in 2008.
The foundation is a charity organization focused on giving medical and educational assistance to indigent children. It also holds annual fundraising events, such as golf tournaments and horse races.
Rosal said the donated amount was originally planned to be used for the construction of a permanent evacuation center but he decided to use it instead for the construction of the housing project that would benefit the poorest of the poor in the city.
The mayor said the fund for the construction of a permanent evacuation center will come from Senators JV Ejercito, Nancy Binay, Juan Edgardo Angara, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Joel Villanueva, who had pledged to give PHP10 million each for a total of PHP60 million for the project.
The facility would serve as temporary shelter for residents from the four villages, which are covered by the 8-km. extended danger zone at the foot of Mt. Mayon during the volcano’s eruptive episodes, he said.
Rosal also said he is just waiting for the approval of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) for the PHP100,000 financial support to the local government units in areas in northern Luzon that suffered from the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong over the weekend. (Emmanuel Solis/PNA)
