NHA to investigate substandard housing units for Sendong victims

Vice President and HUDCC chairman Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The National Housing Authority (NHA) will investigate reports that housing units in Cagayan de Oro City built for victims of Tropical Storm Sendong were substandard in quality, Vice President Jejomar Binay said Friday.

Binay, also chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, made the remark following reports said that residents at the NHA’s Calaanan relocation site in Cagayan de Oro City complained that their houses contained cracked walls and floors which they said could not withstand “even a low magnitude earthquake.”

“I have already directed NHA General Manager Chito Cruz to conduct a thorough investigation on the allegations of some awardees in the resettlement sites in CDO,” said Binay.

Binay also said that the low budget of P110,000 for each housing unit should not be an excuse for shoddy construction.

“Before we started development of the resettlement sites, we have had several consultations with the constructors and other experts as regards the budget for each housing unit and they assured us that the amount would not compromise the safety of the families to be relocated therein,” he said.

Binay added that the matter would be discussed with the constructors, Habitat for Humanity, and Gawad Kalinga, to address the deficiencies.

“I am encouraging the residents of Calanaan and other resettlement sites to report to us any structural defect that they may notice in the houses that have been given to them,” he said.