Caloocan fire victims get free housing

MANILA, Philippines - The Caloocan City government, in cooperation with Gawad Kalinga (GK), a non-government organization helping build houses for the poor, provided 75 houses to victims of a fire in Barangay 185 last January.

Mayor Enrico Echiverri said the symbolic distribution of the houses was held on March 24 at Rockwell Tent in Makati City, and was also attended by GK founder Tony Meloto.

The mayor said National Housing Authority assistant general manager Froilan Campitan assured the beneficiaries that they will soon be given titles of the land where their houses were built.

Echiverri said an additional eight houses for the fire victims will soon be built at the GK Silver Heights housing project in Tabon in Barangay 185, with the construction cost shouldered by the local government’s department heads.

The mayor said Barangay 185 chairman Ato Oliva also promised to build four houses for the victims using his village’s calamity fund. 

Echiverri said his family will also finance the building of 10 more houses and tap local Army reservists for the project’s construction.