ILOILO – Thirty families living in landslide- and flood-prone areas in Batad town will be relocated soon.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. will lead today’s groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of 30 housing units in the town’s Barangay Nangka, a pilot area for the Purok Resilience, a brainchild program of the governor.
Purok Resilience is a socialized and localized housing program and, likewise, a climate change response that shall relocate residents exposed to natural and other related hazards.
“That is also a climate change response. Ngaa? Because we have a housing program nga ara na sia sa barangay level, socialized kay ang gusto naton nga magbenepisyo ang mga kasimanwa naton nga wala sang balay nga ara sa danger zones. Nga kada tuig, in our experience, sila ang may danger sa kalamidad, sila ang ginaagyan sang baha, sila ang ara sa landslide-prone (areas),” Defensor said.
The governor allotted P30 million for building 30 housing units.
“We allotted P30 million and we will work with LGU-Batad. And after this mangita pa kita sang iban nga puede butangan. So it is a socialized housing program of the province. Diri sa Batad may na-identify na nga landslide- and flood-prone areas,” he added.
Last month, the provincial government, through the Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO) and the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), began the pre-construction works at the project site of 30 housing units.
A team from the PEO and PPDO recently conducted a topographic survey in the barangay using a sophisticated drone equipped with LiDAR technology.
The objective of the survey is to determine changes in elevation on a parcel of land, which provides a wealth of information regarding the proposed site, as well as to integrate data into the detailed engineering design and program of works to eliminate variations in the construction phase.
In July 2022, Defensor issued Executive Order 333 for the implementation of a small-scale, socialized and localized housing program for residents of the province living in hazard zones.
Under the program, the localized housing project with houses and lots or home lots, with sites and service development, will be undertaken by the province or with convergence partners for beneficiaries qualified under Republic Act 7279, or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.
Another feature of the program is the establishment of Purok Resilience in barangays that will serve as resettlement areas for residents who will be evacuated from areas exposed to hazards.
It will be established on identified lands owned by the province, owned and donated, or made available by convergent partners for the program.
According to Defensor, Purok Resilience is not just about building housing units but also about forming a community where the recipients are not stripped away from their source of livelihood.
“In our experience, kon ang aton gani relocation site malayo sia, it’s not working for them. So, amo na barangay-based, lapit sa pamilya, lapit sa uma, lapit sa dagat, and lapit sa ila sakayan,” the governor added./PN
