Task force to make rebuilding homes easier in quake areas
Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday created an interagency task force to handle the resettlement effort in Bohol and Cebu, where more than 380,000 people were displaced by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Central Visayas last week.
Through the task force, Binay, who heads the country’s key shelter agencies, has brought together the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the environment, public works, social welfare and local government departments in an effort to centralize reconstruction work.
HUDCC is an umbrella organization composed of the National Housing Authority (NHA), Home Development Mutual (Pag-Ibig) Fund, Home Guaranty Corp., Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. and Social Housing Finance Corp.
With all those agencies working together in the task force, private and foreign developers will deal with only one group, simplifying the process of bringing assistance to the displaced people in Bohol and Cebu, Binay said.
“I believe it is more efficient to have a task force oversee our housing efforts in Cebu and Bohol. We can avoid duplication and overlap, and maximize government resources. The private sector and foreign agencies will also be talking to one government entity,” Binay said in a statement.
Local officials will also play a key role in the effort “since they have a better understanding of the local situation and conditions, and the needs of their people,” Binay said.
“We want to help the survivors not only in rebuilding their homes but more [important], in [bringing] their lives back to normal,” he said.
Earlier, the Pag-Ibig Fund allocated P4.5 million for calamity loans for members in Bohol and Cebu, allowing them to borrow up to 80 percent of their savings, payable in two years with a three-month grace period.
Pag-Ibig also deployed agents to the devastated parts of Bohol and Cebu to reach out to members who might like to apply for loans.
The NHA earlier committed to provide materials for survivors who need to repair partially damaged homes.
Meanwhile, survivors whose homes were destroyed may enlist for resettlement.
In its latest report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the quake affected more than three million people, of whom more than 380,900 were displaced.
It said the temblor also damaged 45,641 houses.
More than 270,000 people urgently need sturdier shelter as well as water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, it said.
Originally posted: 8:41 pm | Friday, October 25th, 2013
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