ZAMBOANGA CITY — The National Housing Authority (NHA), in coordination with the Housing and Urban Development Coordination Council (HUDCC), is set to build 404 houses for fire victims in Barangay Labuan, this city.
More than 400 families were displaced when a fire gutted down 404 houses in Purok 5, Barangay Labuan, 36 km. west of City Hall on July 22.
NHA General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr. told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) they will need at least PHP280 million to build 404 loftable housing units, each with a floor area of 33 square meters.
Escalada said Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has already approved the use of a city government-owned 1.8-hectare lot as the relocation site for the Labuan fire victims. The lot is near the site of the fire incident.
He said the agency needs another 3.6-hectare area on top of the land donated by the local government.
Escalada and HUDCC Chairperson Eduardo del Rosario met with Salazar and other officials at City Hall on Wednesday.
He and del Rosario’s visit was in response to the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to look into the plight of the Labuan fire victims. The President visited Barangay Labuan on July 26 and extended financial assistance to the families displaced by the fire incident.
“We were sent by the President to see the situation in Barangay Labuan. We have coordinated with Mayor Salazar and we will immediately implement the instruction of the President to build houses for the fire victims,” del Rosario said.
He said they have already requested the city government to furnish them the list of the intended beneficiaries of the housing units. (R. G. Antonet Go/PNA)
