GMA Kapuso Foundation turns over 120 houses to victims of typhoon Sendong | GMANetwork.com - Foundation - Articles

GMA Kapuso Foundation (GMAKF) turned over 120 houses to selected families displaced by typhoon Sendong, completing the first phase of its 180-unit housing project in Iligan City.

GMA Kapuso Foundation turns over 120 houses to victims of typhoon Sendong

By GMAKF

GMA Kapuso Foundation (GMAKF) turned over 120 houses to selected families displaced by typhoon Sendong, completing the first phase of its 180-unit housing project in Iligan City.

This landmark undertaking of GMAKF in partnership with the City Government of Iligan was turned over last April 13 in a ceremony led by GMAKF EVP and COO Mel C. Tiangco and local government officials.

The beneficiaries, chosen by a screening committee composed of representatives from various community stakeholders such as the Iligan City Housing and Resettlement office, City Social Welfare and Development Office, and the National Housing Authority Office, to name a few, were awarded full-ownership of the houses.  They also received home appliances donated by Hanabishi.

The event was concluded with the groundbreaking ceremony of the second phase of the Kapuso Village in Purok Tubaran, also in Bgy. Mandulog, which is expected to be finished by December.

“We are proud to finally turn over the first phase of the Kapuso Village to these families, who were once homeless because of typhoon Sendong,” said Tiangco. “We are looking at completing the remaining 60 houses by December this year just in time for Christmas.”

The Kapuso Village stands on a three-hectare land, formerly an idle land owned by the City Government, and is situated near the original residential area of Mandulog which was devastated by the flash floods of Typhoon Sendong, reducing adaptation problems. To ensure the safety of the resettlement site, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) performed thorough inspection and evaluation of the area to ensure its susceptibility for permanent relocation. 

A community tree-planting activity was also held on the same day, with 200 seedlings planted around the perimeter of the Kapuso Village where GMAKF earlier built 10 fully-equipped classrooms last September 2012. These Kapuso-type classrooms, just like the houses in the Kapuso Village, were noted by different NGOs both local and international, for its durability and top-notch design.