VP Binay orders probe on alleged substandard housing for Sendong victims in CDO

Cagayan de Oro residents affected by Tropical Storm Sendong last week may have been victims twice over.  On Friday, Vice President Jejomar Binay said he has instructed the National Housing Authority (NHA) to investigate the alleged substandard housing units built for survivors of Storm Sendong.

 

“I have already directed NHA General Manager Chito Cruz to conduct a thorough investigation on the allegations of some awardees in the resettlement sites in CDO,” Binay, who also chairs the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said in a statement released.

 

The NHA is a member of the the HUDCC. The cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Mindanao were worst hit when Sendong ravaged the country in 2011, with floods washing away entire houses with families inside in coastal villages in the said provinces.

 

According to Binay, reports have reached them that some residents at the Calaanan relocation site in Barangay Canito-an in CDO complained of cracked walls and floors, which they said may not be able to withstand even a low magnitude earthquake.

 

“We are taking these reports seriously because it is first and foremost an issue of the residents’ safety,” he said.

 

Binay said they will discuss the matter with the constructors, including the Habitat for Humanity and Gawad Kalinga, so that the supposed deficiencies will be addressed immediately.

 

“We want our kababayans to live without any fear that their houses might suddenly collapse so I am encouraging the residents of Calanaan and other resettlement sites to report to us any structural defect that they may notice in the houses that have been given to them,” he said.

 

Binay likewise said that the tight budget, roughly around P110,000 for each housing unit, should not be an excuse for "shoddy construction."

 

“Before we started development of the resettlement sites, we have had several consultations with the constructors and other experts as regards the budget for each housing unit and they assured us that the amount would not compromise the safety of the families to be relocated therein,” he said. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMA News