100 ‘Lumad’ flee as strong winds whipped new homes in Cotabato town

KIDAPAWAN CITY—Indigenous peoples, or “lumad,” belonging to the Obo Manobo tribe, all beneficiaries of the housing project from the National Housing Authority (NHA) in Arakan town of Cotabato, were forced to flee their homes in the town’s Barangay Libertad after strong winds brought about by the tail end of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” destroyed the roofs of their newly-built houses on Tuesday afternoon.

A lumad elder who lived in the area said he saw the roofs of at least two houses blown away by strong winds, prompting the 75 families (145 individuals) living in the government’s housing project to leave and take shelter in the nearby Libertad Elementary School.

“They feared that the roofing of the rest of the houses might also give way since the strong winds persisted last night,” the Obo Manobo elder who asked not to be named told the Inquirer on Thursday.

The NHA awarded the 75 housing units only on Sept. 30 this year to the Obo Manobo families displaced and rendered homeless by the earthquake that hit their village and wrought destruction in Cotabato province in 2019.

Classes at Arakan town’s Libertad Elementary School were temporarily suspended until Friday to accommodate the evacuees while the municipal government of Arakan and the NHA in Cotabato province checked the stability and integrity of the housing units.

But the displaced families were worried about where to stay once classes resumed on Monday since they were yet given the go signal to return home.

Personnel of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) have distributed food packs to the evacuees but said the supply could only last two days.

Ailments set in

Some children and elderly reported to be suffering from colds and coughing as the cold weather persisted and most of them were not used to sleeping on the concrete floors of the classrooms.

NHA officials in the region were scheduled to visit the relocation site on Tuesday.

The contractor of the housing project would still be liable to repair the damaged houses as these were still covered by the prescribed one-year warranty after the project’s turnover last month, said Zenaida Cabiles, director of the NHA in Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City).

“We will coordinate with the contractor for the immediate repair of the damaged houses so that the beneficiaries can return to their respective homes,” Cabiles said. —WILLIAMOR MAGBANUA