President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said 98 percent of permanent housing projects for Super Typhoon “Yolanda” victims have been completed, marking significant progress over a decade after the disaster.
Speaking at the sidelines of the turnover ceremony for completed housing units in Leyte, the President emphasized the government’s efforts to address issues with substandard housing built in the early phases of the project.
“The first housing projects were substandard—lacking electricity, water, roads, and were too far from communities, which is why they weren’t fully utilized,” Mr. Marcos said on Friday.
He explained that additional funding has been allocated to rehabilitate these units, making them habitable and resilient against future calamities.
“We’ve provided funds to local governments, particularly in Tacloban, to repair and upgrade these houses,” he added.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez joined the chief executive at the ceremonial turnover of 3,517 housing units to families formerly residing in unsafe or no-build zones.
The event, held in Burauen, Leyte on Friday, was highlighted by the turnover of symbolic keys to local government officials from eight municipalities across Leyte, Samar, and Biliran, where the National Housing Authority (NHA) built “permanent and dignified homes” for Yolanda survivors.
“We thank the President for his continued support to our province. This project is not simply about housing but it symbolizes the recovery of our people,” Romualdez said in Filipino.
Each unit has a floor area of between 22 to 28.6 square meters and is built on a lot of about 40 square meters.
“These houses represent new hope and a new beginning for our compatriots who were devastated by Yolanda,” Romualdez added.
The ceremonial turnover also included the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and Deed of Donation and Acceptance (DODA), formalizing the transfer of housing units to their beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, Romualdez said the House of Representatives will advocate for disaster preparedness and recovery programs, emphasizing the need to safeguard communities against natural calamities.
“We will continue to push programs that provide security and certainty for our countrymen,” he said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Marcos leads turnover of housing units to ‘Yolanda’ survivors.”
