Singson: Bunkhouses already planned before ‘Yolanda’

DPWH Secretary Rogelio L. Singson. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Public Works and Higways Secretary Rogelio Singson said Monday that prior to the devastation of Supertyphoon “Yolanda”, the building of temporary shelters were already on the master plan of disaster rehabilitation.

In a press briefing in Malacañang, Singson said that bunkhouses were also constructed or included in rehabilitation plans in Zamboanga and areas hit by typhoon “Sendong” in 2011.

“The government has been constructing bunkhouses not just after ‘Yolanda,’ but also in Zamboanga and after ‘Sendong’ as temporary shelters,” Singson said. “That is part of the plan for ‘Yolanda’ as well as other calamities.”

He said that all 200 bunkhouses, which amounted to almost P14 million, have a standard design and are based on temporary shelters that builders use for speedy construction.

Singson added that the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the local government units have the responsibility to identify the families that will take shelter in the bunkhouses.

“The DSWD and the LGU’s will identify who will be housed in the bunkhouses, there are certain income levels that they will determine who will be using the bunkhouses.”

The secretary also said that they have to make adjustments in accordance with suggestions from experts from the United Nations that would be finished within one to two months.

RELATED STORIES:

DPWH builds 116 bunkhouses for ‘Yolanda’ survivors

‘Yolanda’ bunkhouses overpriced