• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
The municipal government of La Castellana in Negros Occidental, one of the hardest-hit towns by Typhoon Tino, is preparing the 8.3-hectare relocation site for more than 300 severely affected families.
In an interview, Vice Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan said that they have already visited the site located in Barangay Robles, near the town proper.
The owner of the property has sent a letter of intent to the local government unit (LGU), expressing their willingness to sell the property for government use.
Mangilimutan added that the 8.3-hectare area has a slope, making the plot area about 6 hectares.
“In Robles alone we have 600-plus affected families. However, several have already found a new home, so there are still more than 300 families that are in need of relocation,” she said.
All families who have found a new place will be given financial assistance by the municipal government.
The vice mayor added that the assessment of the said site is underway after the owner of the property agreed to a staggered type of payment from the local government, as Mangilimutan cited that “the town cannot afford to buy the lot in one payment.”
Mangilimutan had earlier said during the visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the town that the P10 million extended fund from the Office of the President (OP) will be primarily allocated to purchase a parcel of land for typhoon victims.
La Castellana is now waiting for the signed deed of donation from the OP to start facilitating and negotiating for the property to start the relocation of the victims “as soon as possible.”
QUALIFICATIONS
Mangilimutan said that the families that will be relocated are those who totally lost their homes due to the typhoon and those who are situated in areas tagged by the government as no-build zones.
“All those who are on the riverside or 15 meters within the riverbanks, also those whose homes were totally washed out, and even the partially ones who were in the no-build zones,” she further explained.
Meanwhile, the property bought by the provincial government of Negros Occidental in Barangay Talaptap in the town is intended for the victims of the Mt. Kanlaon eruption.
The relocation site in Barangay Talaptap was provided with livelihood programs since most of the victims were dependent on their land and crops, which were located within the 4-kilometer danger zone.
However, for the typhoon victims, the LGU will provide the relocation alone, but without livelihood assistance.
Each family will be given at least 60 square meters for their homes.*
