Tycoon targets 300 houses in 3 months for victims of ‘Pablo’

BAGANGA, Davao Oriental—In the next three months, at least 300 housing units will be constructed here, courtesy of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan’s various companies.

On Thursday, Gov. Corazon Malanyaon led the ground-breaking ceremony in Barangay Lambajon here where the first resettlement site will rise. The village, with a population of at least 4,000 people, was among the hardest hit by Typhoon “Pablo” last Dec. 4.

Malanyaon said those who will occupy the houses in the 5-hectare resettlement site will be chosen among those who could not be allowed to return to their typhoon-destroyed homes as their villages sit on areas classified as danger zones.

Many of the displaced residents here live along the coast.

Mon Isberto, public affairs head of PLDT-Smart, said the money to be used in the construction of the “home shelters” would come from funds raised during a telethon aired on TV5, a TV network also owned by Pangilinan.

Isberto said TV5 was able to raise some P100 million during the telethon, which was launched immediately after Pablo struck. Part of the money, he said, had been used for relief goods and medicines distributed to victims.

“I am so humbled that we have a kapatid who is so generous to help us,” Malanyaon said, referring to the motto of Pangilinan’s TV network.

The governor said more groups, like the Gawad Kalinga, have pledged to build more houses for the typhoon victims. Nico Alconaba, Inquirer Mindanao