Palawan builds new villages for ‘Yolanda’ survivors

CULION, Palawan—The establishment of new permanent settlements for coastal communities in Palawan province that were affected by last year’s Super Typhoon “Yolanda” finally got under way, with the start of the development of a new village here to be comprised of at least 270 houses, including support structures touted to be resilient to calamities.

As the national government recently announced that it was shifting from relief operations to recovery and rehabilitation, Culion’s coastal fishing village of Binudac got ahead of the national government’s list of actual efforts to create new settlements designed to withstand natural calamities.

The provincial government of Palawan donated a 4-hectare titled property for the new settlement, to be developed jointly by several national government agencies and private groups under a fisheries sector-based resettlement program designed by the National Antipoverty Commission (NAPC).

NAPC Secretary Joel Rocamora, who visited the sites in Palawan on Friday, explained that under the plan, each beneficiary family would receive a modular house to be constructed by Habitat for Humanity with funds from the National Housing Authority (NHA).

Rocamora and Palawan Gov. Jose Alvarez led the groundbreaking of the resettlement sites on Saturday.

The design of the Binudac settlement, which was developed by Habitat for Humanity, features 28-square-meter, single detached housing units built of concrete and sturdy metal roofing. The new village will also include a fish landing facility that will be built by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to support the locals’ main livelihood activity.

Rocamora estimated that for Palawan, the cost for developing around six new settlements in Yolanda-affected areas would run up to around P4.3 billion, targeting over 15,000 affected households in six municipalities in northern Palawan.

“We are piloting right now 15 sites in various parts of the country affected by Yolanda. We would like to be able to ask the Oparr (Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery) to scale this up in 111 other municipalities,” Rocamora said.

Culion Mayor Emiliano Marasigan Jr. told the Inquirer that they had completed the preparatory work for the new village site in Binudac in coordination with relevant national government agencies and the provincial government to convince affected villagers to relocate there.

The government support agencies also agreed on Friday to prioritize the resettlement of over 4,000 families in the coastal village of Malbato, Coron town.

Coron Mayor Clara Reyes said the relocation of Malbato villagers, who would be transferred closer to the town proper, was urgent because most households there continued to live on stilts above the coastal waters.

The NHA has agreed to purchase a 56-hectare property near the affected area to relocate a total of 1,584 families in Coron for the new settlement, Reyes said.

Asked if the family beneficiaries would be required to pay for the new houses and lots that would be given to them, Rocamora said the government would encourage an arrangement “where the family beneficiaries will have a sense of ownership based on their capacity to pay so that it will not be completely a dole-out.