Photo 1: Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo holds a discussion with DSWD-Field Office VIII Regional Director Restituto Macuto and Community Architect Rex Cabangan on the status of the construction of permanent and disaster-resilient homes for Yolanda survivors in Pope Francis Village, Tacloban City.
Photo 2: Currently, 14 housing units are already finished in the village which will serve as permanent shelter for the Yolanda-affected families from the districts of Magallanes and San Jose.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo flew to Tacloban City on Thursday to check on the status of construction of the DSWD-assisted  shelter project for survivors of Typhoon Yolanda.

The Department shelled out a total of  P38, 500,000 as its counterpart fund  for the construction of 550 permanent and disaster-resilient homes at the Pope Francis Village in Barangay Diit, Tacloban City.   A housing unit costs P300, 000  for the structure alone, of which P70,000 of the total unit cost came from the DSWD.

The rest of the funding came from the consortium of international humanitarian organizations – the Associates of the Urban Poor, Archdiocese of Palo, Redemptorist Fathers, CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace, Development and Peace.

During a short interaction with the beneficiaries,  Sec. Taguiwalo  lauded  their deep involvement in the ongoing construction of the homes.

In her speech, the Secretary highlighted the importance of “sama-samang pagkilos para sa pagbabago (unity in action for change)” in establishing the resettlement project that will serve as a permanent residence of fishermen, market vendors, pedicab drivers and other families affected by ‘Yolanda’ from the districts of Magallanes and San Jose in Tacloban.

In addition, the consortium has already built a six-classroom school building worth P7 million and it now stands at the nearby compound of the Scandinavian National High School.

People’s participation

Sec. Taguiwalo also commended the importance of how the project is empowering ‘Yolanda’ survivors by means of people’s participation and skills training.

The DSWD and other funding organizations provided the cash incentive for the Cash-for-Work (CFW) scheme of P260 per day to partner-beneficiaries who underwent training on various skills such as masonry, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical installation.

According to Project Coordinator Ariel Nones, the project is contractorless. They only hired in-house engineers and employed the partner-beneficiaries as laborers. However they plan to soon hire skilled manpower to hasten the construction of the housing units.

As of this time, there are already 14 units completed while 40 other units are still ongoing.

Lastly, Sec. Taguiwalo assured the beneficiaries that, “I don’t want you to be back from being homeless. Together, we will continue to prioritize the needs of the poor through initiatives that will allow them to become productive members of the society.” ###