TACLOBAN CITY – Around 40 families who survived the April 10, 2022 landslide in Baybay City will soon move to temporary shelters after three months of staying in evacuation centers.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Eastern Visayas Regional Director Lord Byron Torrecarion said the shelters will be turned over to recipients on July 15.

Army engineers, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) personnel, local government unit (LGU) workers, and volunteers have been working double-time to build the project, according to the OCD official.

“The shelter is made up of the concrete floor, steel and ‘hardiflex’ for walls, and corrugated sheets for roofing. Each unit has a water and power supply. Families will stay in the shelter while waiting for the completion of permanent houses,” Torrecarion said in a phone interview.

It is within a two-hectare property in Maganhan village. The first batch of beneficiaries are residents of Kantagnos, the village wiped out by massive landslides.

These families have been staying at the Baybay City Senior High School.

The OCD initially provided P10 million for the construction materials and funding.

The DPWH handled the site inspection, preparation, and appropriate development of the site identified by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) as “safe”.

The Philippine Army has deployed personnel from the engineering battalion to work on the construction. Volunteers from the community are provided with food and cash by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is tasked with ensuring the local government’s compliance with the relocation program.

Funds are also ready to construct an additional 32 shelters in Baybay City. There is also a proposal to build 72 more temporary shelters each in Baybay and nearby Abuyog town.

Site preparation is now ongoing for landslide survivors in Abuyog town. The target is to start the construction by mid-July.

On April 10, at least 128 people died due to several landslide incidents in Baybay City. Two days later, a village in Abuyog was wiped out by a landslide killing at least 58 residents.

The MGB regional office initially identified eight villages in Baybay City as danger zones after showing early signs of landslides.

The MGB found the susceptibility of these communities after a thorough assessment of these areas in response to reports from residents of visible tension cracks.

The result of the assessment has been relayed to local government units for the enforcement of “no dwelling zones.” Philippine News Agency