Sona wrong on Zamboanga housing finish

ZAMBOANGA CITY—An engineer working on a government-funded permanent housing project for residents displaced by the terror attack on this city by followers of Nur Misuari and a government operation to flush them out said President Aquino erred in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) when he said beneficiaries would transfer to the new houses in August.

In his Sona, Aquino said at least 50 families would move in to their new houses at the Martha Drive Resettlement Site in Barangay (village) Sta. Catalina by mid-August.

But engineer Amirul Haj Masjal, who supervises work in the project site, said it is impossible to finish the housing project by the middle of August because workers should not take shortcuts in the construction process and the contractor handling the project faces several challenges.

120 days

The contractor was given the notice to proceed with the project by the National Housing Authority, the implementing agency, only on July 3 and was given a period of 120 days, or until October this year, to complete the project.

At present, only 34 out of 47 houses are currently being constructed or just about 45 percent.

“The duration (contract) itself said 120 days. We cannot possibly finish the 47 houses by August 14,” said Masjal.

He said even if more workers are hired, they cannot take shortcuts in the construction process because of safety concerns. One of these is the standard curing period for cement, which varies according to type of projects but should not be shorter than seven days.

Masjal added that some residents have started putting up temporary structures on the site that made it difficult for construction vehicles to move around. Liza Jocson, Inquirer Mindanao

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