‘Permanent’ evacuation center up in Laguna

CALABARZON’S first permanent evacuation center in Barangay (village) Duhat, Sta. Cruz, Laguna. MARICAR CINCO/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

STA. CRUZ, Laguna—A two-floor government building will be as the first “permanent” evacuation center for families displaced by disasters in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region.

“Classes will not be disrupted and families forced to leave their homes will be kept safe,” said Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman. Schools usually become temporary shelters at the height of disasters, prompting authorities to establish a permanent evacuation area.

Soliman turned over the management of the P20-million building in Barangay (village) Duhat, this town, to the local government on Monday. Constructed on a 2,139-square-meter lot, it can accommodate 1,000 families and is among the first few to rise using national and local government funds.

Other “large” government evacuation centers have been built in Albay province in Bicol and in Pampanga province in Central Luzon, Soliman said.

The secretary recognized, however, that flooding—the most common calamity in the region—could not be immediately solved, given the heavy siltation of the Laguna de Bay. She said the Laguna Lake Development Authority was working on on the lake’s water-holding capacity to ease the problem.

The national and municipal governments allotted P10 million each to fund the construction of the Duhat building, said Leticia Diokno, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The project was completed in July.

The second floor is subdivided into 52 rooms while the roof deck can be turned into a tent city in case more families are to be evacuated, said Jovita Baldeabella of the municipal social welfare office.

One of the rooms is for breastfeeding mothers while another is a play area, complete with floor mats and toys, said Joseph Arceo, information officer of the DSWD regional office.

Twelve comfort rooms are found in the building.