ILOILO City – The structural integrity of houses at the National Housing Authority’s (NHA) P290-million housing project in Barangay Bacjawan Sur, Concepcion, Iloilo must be tested, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 6.
To determine the actual strength of the housing units intended for survivors of 2013’s super typhoon “Yolanda” DPWH-6’s Maintenance Division recommended to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) the conduct of a non-destructive test (NDT).
Beneficiaries have been complaining of the following: cracks on floors, scaling of concrete walls, leaky roofing, uneven paint application, no water supply, and sloppy construction of toilets.
DPWH-6 came up with the recommendation after conducting an ocular inspection on June 8 upon the SP’s request.
The inspection covered housing units on blocks 17, 18 and 7. DPWH-6 made the following initial observations:
* poor quality of concrete / low cement concrete / improper design mix, as visible on concrete walls and slabs
* dusting on concrete evident with fine powder by just rubbing the fingers on the surface
According to DPWH-6’s Engr. Jeylourd Riofrir, NDT uses special apparatuses such as a rebound hammer to check if the correct specifications were met.
A rebound hammer, also known as Schmidt hammer or Swiss hammer, is a device that measures the elastic properties or strength of concrete or rock, mainly surface hardness and penetration resistance.
The hammer measures the rebound of a spring-loaded mass impacting against the surface of the sample. The test hammer will hit the concrete at a defined energy. Its rebound is dependent on the hardness of the concrete and is measured by the test equipment. By reference to a conversion chart, the rebound value can be used to determine the compressive strength.
According to SP member Renee Valencia, chairperson of the committee on justice, good government and human rights, the NDT should be done at the soonest possible time.
Her committee would formally request DPWH-6 to conduct it, she said.
The safety of the beneficiaries is the SP’s prime concern, said Valencia.
NHA started the housing project in 2016, three years after super typhoon “Yolanda” struck northern Iloilo. Of the 1,000 units, only 450 are occupied.
Each housing unit costs P290,000.
Actually, according to Valencia, contractor Hercar Construction Corp. has yet to turn over the project to NHA and it has the chance to correct whatever deficiencies DPWH would discover.
“Ang importante ma-assure nga ang aton pumoluyo safe kag ila welfare maproteksyonan,” said Valencia./PN
