• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday said that owners of destroyed and partially damaged houses will receive cash assistance which will be taken from the P50 million given by Malacañang to the provincial government.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that 12,633 houses were destroyed, while 98,081 were partially-damaged due to the devastation brought by Typhoon Tino in Negros Occidental.
Lacson said he will consult with the affected local government units on its distribution, as the funds are insufficient to cover all the victims, if they are targeting to give P10,000 for each destroyed house, and P5,000 for partially damaged residential homes.
During the visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on November 15 to LGUs in central Negros devastated by the recent typhoon, the Department of Social Welfare and Development gave P10,000 each to families of destroyed houses, and P5,000 to those with partially damaged houses.
The Office of the President also downloaded P10 million each in financial assistance to La Castellana, Moises Padilla, and La Carlota, and P5 million each for Isabela, Binalbagan and Hinigaran.
Lacson said he is targeting to distribute the P50 million financial assistance as soon as possible, after the affected LGUs submit their list of recipients.
More than 600 families in La Castellana and Moises Padilla, whose respective houses situated along riverbanks were destroyed by flooding, may no longer return to their respective areas.
Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo said they are now looking for relocation sites in barangays of Magallon Cadre, Quintin Remo, and Inolingan, in Moises Padilla, to relocate 362 families whose residences were destroyed by massive flooding.
Vice Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor Mangilimutan said that they are also looking for relocation sites for 300 families.
Lacson also raised the possibility that many typhoon victims with destroyed homes may no longer be able to return.
“They lost their houses and even their land. Many places are now covered with boulders or have been overrun by water. These areas are already no-build zones,” he added.
Lacson also said that the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is ready to provide free modular houses for evacuees.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental has purchased an 8.6-hectare property in Barangay Talaptap, La Castellana, to be developed as a permanent relocation site for residents living within the 4-kilometer permanent danger zone of Kanlaon Volcano.
Lacson said it has 200-300 lots, with residents of Kanlaon 4-kilometer permanent danger zone prioritized as beneficiaries.*
