EDITORIAL - Too late the houses

It has been 13 years since Super Typhoon Yolanda but not a single housing unit intended for the typhoon’s victims in Bogo City has been completed, this according to the Commission on Audit (COA).

According to a story that came out in this newspaper, the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Bogo City Government entered into a memorandum of agreement last March 6, 2019, for the development of a relocation site and construction of 750 housing units under the NHA’s Yolanda Permanent Housing Program.

But COA found out that as of Dec. 31, 2025, none of the units had been completed, even after the initial 750 housing units had been cut down to 387, and even as the NHA has not been remiss in making its payments for the project as part of the memorandum of agreement.

The Bogo City Government said the project site encountered legal problems involving disputes among heirs that eventually reached the courts. It also cited work suspension orders, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdowns, as one reason for the lack of on-site progress.

They also said issues caused by permit acquisitions contributed to the delay, something that COA questioned.

It has been so long since that super typhoon. While it’s true that for some of us the memories of that disaster might still be vivid, life does go on.

It’s possible many of those who were initially set to benefit from this particular housing project may not need it anymore because they got tired of waiting and decided to fend for themselves.

Considering this delay let’s hope that another super typhoon will never come along to destroy homes and render people homeless. But that’s a foolish hope now, isn’t it?

Because of our unfortunate location in the Pacific Typhoon Belt we will continue to be battered by storms, and most likely because of climate change these storms will get stronger. And when super typhoons hit, people will lose their homes.

We don’t have to say that measures must be taken to make sure such a delay doesn’t happen again.