SAN PEDRO, LAGUNA, Philippines—The Swiss government gave 200 temporary housing units to typhoon victims of this town on Saturday, following an agreement with the municipal government.

The local government unit has sought help from foreign agencies in providing shelter to families left homeless by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” and Typhoon “Santi.”

The houses, made of plywood and each with a floor area of about 20 square meters, was turned over by Dr. Peter Sutter, Swiss ambassador to the Philippines.

They were built on a government-owned lot in Barangay San Vicente.

Thirty-two common toilets and bathrooms were also built and turned over.

Water delivery

Water will be initially delivered through fire trucks, until the water system is put up, while the power supply is already up and will be subsidized by the municipal government.

“They (houses) are ready for occupancy. The families can move in later tonight. I’m sure by next week, the housing units will be filled up,” said San Pedro Mayor Calixto Cataquiz.

San Pedro is one of the towns that suffered grave damages brought about by the spate of typhoons in the past two months.

A report from the municipal social welfare and development office said 4,701 families, living along the lake shore villages of Landayan, Cuyab and San Roque, were affected.

Lingering evacuation

About 1,017 families remain at the eight evacuation centers in the town.

“The evacuees will be allowed to stay (at the resettlement area) for six months, on the assumption that the flood would have already receded by then,” Cataquiz said.

The flood, aggravated by the swollen Laguna lake, is predicted to stay until December or early next year.

By the time the evacuees return to their original residences, Cataquiz said they could tear down the housing units and bring the materials to rebuild their homes that have been soaked in water over the months.

“We just have to make sure that those who will be awarded the housing units are really those who lost their homes here,” he said, noting that there were some who claimed to be evacuees from San Pedro but were found to be from other municipalities.

Container van houses

Municipal officials would rather have the evacuees moved to temporary homes instead of them cramping schools’ classrooms, gymnasiums or market stalls turned into evacuation centers.

The mayor has requested 100 units of used container vans from the Dutch government to serve as houses for the evacuees.

Each van, he said, costs about P80,000 to P100,000, but he is appealing to acquire them for free. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon