The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has built 139 houses for families badly affected by the 2017 strong earthquake in Kananga, Leyte.
The DSWD regional office here reported on Wednesday that families from villages of San Ignacio, Masarayo, and Tongonan in Kananga town availed of the free housing from the government.
The houses, which were turned over to the families from June to July, are now being occupied by the recipients.
Each house, costing PHP25,604 and funded by the DSWD transitional shelter program, is made of wood, cement, and corrugated galvanized iron sheets.
“The DSWD spent PHP3.85 million to complete the project,” said DSWD 8 (Eastern Visayas) information officer Abelardo Bibat in a phone interview.
The DSWD carried out a cash-for-work project where each beneficiary who worked to build houses received compensation of PHP2,140.
The construction started in 2019 and was completed in the first half of 2021, he said.
“The beneficiaries have been waiting for this permanent shelter. The DSWD wants to see these families living on safer grounds, away from threats of natural calamities,” Bibat said.
It was on July 6, 2017, when a 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook Leyte Island, killing four people and caused injuries to 100 others.
It triggered widespread power interruptions in the whole of Eastern Visayas and nearby Bohol Island province.
Hundreds of families from Kananga town were ordered to evacuate and resettled in another place due to ground cracks and landslides.
Source: Philippines News Agency