Housing Project: Giving Hope For The Less Fortunate
The City Government of Koronadal continues to carry out its mission to provide the less fortunate and calamity struck families equal access to rehabilitation programs. This includes providing temporary shelter, necessities such as food, water, clothing, and most especially, providing resettlement sites to those families whose homes were totally wrecked by calamities. As a manifestation of this mission, this 19th of January 2024, the most recent government-funded relocation site was turned over, the San Jose Cityville.
Last May 15, 2023, around 6:30 p.m., one of our communities settled in Sitio Cadidang, Brgy. San Jose experienced heavy rainfall, resulting in a massive landslide that destroyed houses, displacing our residents and forcing them to seek temporary refuge at the regional evacuation center located at the Barangay Compound of San Jose.
In response to the effects of the catastrophe, the City Government of Koronadal through the initiative of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) and in partnership with Barangay Development Program, Special Project Division, City Engineering Office, City Architect’s Office, Community Affairs Office and with the help of the Koronadal City Councilors, Local Housing Board and with the Approval of our City Mayor Honorable Atty. Eliordo U. Ogena, crafted the plan that started the construction of San Jose Cityville, a relocation project which gave home to twenty (20) families whose houses were wrecked by the calamity.
According to City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Cyrus Jose J. Urbano, this project was materialized after the immediate approval of Mayor Ogena’s to utilize the land donated by Camella as a relocation site. This 1.9-hectare wide land area situated at Sitio Boundary of the same barangay is very strategic and is the best relocation site for the recipients as it is a landslide safe area and it is situated near their farmlands.
Special Projects Division Head M. Beverlyn Pacinabao,MS, EnP in her statement during the turn-over ceremony stated that the combined budget of Php 1,177,558 from CDRRMO and Php 144,000 from Public Employment Services Office (PESO) made way to the construction of twenty (20) houses, each with 26 square meter floor area, 40 square meter lot area and each house with a construction cost of 66,000 pesos. Aside from the monetary contributions from the aforementioned departments, the city government also acknowledged the invaluable contribution of Chu Bun Gim Foundation, INC. through their President Ms. Maria Victoria Chiu Tan who donated modern types of pre-painted roofs to provide shed to the constructed houses.
During the turn-over ceremony, Koronadal City Mayor Atty. Eliordo U. Ogena along with City Councilors Hon. Ma. Ester Marin-Catorce, Hon. John Rey P. Rodriguez and Hon. Mark C. Lapidez congratulated the project recipients and encouraged them to not only maintain the houses granted by the city government but to improve them in any way they can.
Among the twenty (20) beneficiaries, Mrs. Rosalie Montebano who had the firsthand experience of the catastrophe could not help but shed tears of mixed emotion of trauma and joy. She reminisced her experiences from the time that their house was totally destroyed, to which such tribulation also almost ended her life and the lives of her family. In behalf of the whole community, she expressed her warmest appreciation to the city government for providing them a new light of hope. “Nagapasalamat gid ako sing dako nga gin tagaan nyo man kami sang amon nga plastaran dire kag kung ari na kami dire nami na ang amon nga pagtulog kag naplastar na kami. Thank you, madamo gid nga salamat”, says Mrs. Montebano.