Laguna, Batangas evacuation center projects get P100-M PAGCOR funding

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) said Saturday it turned over the funds for the construction of two Multi-Purpose Evacuation Centers (MPEC) in the provinces Laguna and Batangas.

In a statement, PAGCOR said it granted P50 million each to the local government units of San Pablo City in Laguna and the town of Lobo in Batangas for the construction of the two-story emergency facilities, which will also serve as satellite offices and activity venues when not used for evacuation purposes.

The state-run gaming firm turned over the first tranche of the funding amounting to P25 million to San Pablo City on May 7, while the municipality of Lobo received the same initial funding for their MPEC project a day earlier during separate groundbreaking rites attended by the agency’s key officers and the recipients’ local officials, according to PAGCOR.

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo said the agency would continue to finance the building of emergency structures in different identified sites nationwide even if the agency currently experiences dwindling revenues due to the temporary closure of gaming operations.

“Our commitment to provide safe and comfortable shelters to those living in places that are always in the path of strong typhoons and other natural calamities is as serious as our efforts to help the government win the battle against the pandemic,” said Domingo.

San Pablo City Mayor Loreto Amante thanked PAGCOR for being his city in the list of MPEC recipients since every typhoon that lashes Laguna brings destructive winds and poses danger especially to those living in tree-lined communities in their city.

The emergency facility will be constructed in Barangay San Gregorio.

“Unlike the other provinces that are always swamped by heavy floods during heavy rains, what endangers our residents are the strong winds brought by typhoons, which forces us most of the time to evacuate them to schools and other places available. With the aid that we received from PAGCOR, we can now have a permanent, safe and comfortable structure to house them whenever they need to be evacuated,” Amante said.

Meanwhile, PAGCOR said the MPEC to be built in a mountainside community in Lobo, Batangas will directly benefit thousands of residents of at least three seaside barangays of the town which constantly face the threat of severe weather disturbances like typhoons and storm surges.

PAGCOR said it had released over P600 million for the construction of MPECs in various parts of the country since the project was launched in November 2020.

Apart from San Pablo City, Laguna and Lobo, Batangas, the agency has also released the first tranche of funding for the MPECs in Southern Leyte, Aurora, Tarlac, Catarman, Samar; Barangays Camflora, Mangero and Poblacion in San Andres, Quezon; Tapaz, Capiz; Cajidiocan, Romblon; Dinas, Zamboanga del Sur; Tagudin, Ilocos Sur; Tadian, Mountain Province; Legazpi City and Ligao in Albay; Ocampo, Tigaon, San Jose and Sagnay in Camarines Sur; and San Fernando and Floridablanca in Pampanga. — DVM, GMA News