Duterte witnesses turnover of houses to Marawi evacuees

MARAWI CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday witnessed the ceremonial turnover of houses to some 50 evacuees from Barangay Bito Buadi Itowa here.

The houses, which adopted the design of the Tarlac Heritage Foundation, were built from modules and were fitted with solar panels for electricity and rain catching system for water supply.

Col. Romeo Brawner, the deputy commander of the Joint Task Force Ranao, said one house can be built in just a few minutes from modules made from PVC, bamboo and nipa for roofing.

A demonstration by soldiers showed that a single unit can be built in less than 30 minutes.

After the demonstration, Duterte immediately spoke with Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra.

He was overheard as saying the modular houses can also be built in the 11-hectare temporary relocation site in Barangay Sagonsongan to speed up the relocation of some 50,000 families currently leaving in evacuation camps.

Earlier, an official said the relocation of the families to Sagonsongan could start in January 2018 at the earliest, using the steel and wood housing units earlier approved by officials.