Zamboanga City gov't vows meeting housing deadline Aquino set for siege evacuees

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - The Zamboanga City government assured it can meet the target set by President Benigno Aquino III for the initial completion of houses for the occupancy of displaced families in the devastated district.

“We hold on to President Aquino’s commitment on the rehabilitation during the SONA (State of the Nation Address) for Zamboanga City and allow the agencies concerned to meet the deadline,” Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said.

President Aquino’s pronouncement that 47 permanent houses will be opened for occupancy for the evacuees at Martha Drive Sta. Catalina within this month was met with doubts from some barangay leaders after they noticed the concrete structures have been barely set-up.

Salazar said military stations and headquarters will also be established as part of the security, citing that the area was previously used by criminals as their landing point.

City Planning Officer and rehabilitation cluster head Rodrigo Sicat the National Housing Authority (NHA), which is overseeing he construction of the duplex and loaftable housing units, assured they are on target.

Sicat said the contractors holding the housing projects have even resorted to ‘leave-form‘ concrete to ensure quality and durability of the house structures.

“The NHA can deliver the 47 housing units even before the target date,” Sicat said.

Sicat also clarified that the units will be for the Martha Home Owners Association and not for a subdivision as mentioned by the president.

The planning officer also dispelled apprehensions that the quality of the units might be affected following reports that the contractors assigned might resort to sub-contracting just to meet the construction of the houses in the rehabilitation site.

“The housing units will be properly inspected as to the specification set by the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways),” Sicat said.

The DPWH was designated by President Aquino as the lead agency in the P3.5-billion rehabilitation project of the district that was devastated following the siege last September 9 by rebels of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Nur Misuari faction. The siege displaced more than 120,000 and razed more than 10,000 houses in at least four barangays.

Sicat said at least 5,587 of loaftable housing units, duplex, two-storey type units, and houses on stilts will be constructed for the displaced families within the 18-month target period.