Gawad Kalinga Turns Over 35 Duplex-Type Houses To Pinut-an Beneficiaries

Feb. 24,2010
Gawad Kalinga Turns Over 35 Duplex-type Houses To Pinut-an Beneficiaries
By Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr

Maasin City, Southern Leyte-.The Gawad Kalinga has turned over 35 duplex-type houses (equivalent to 70 housing units) recently to beneficiaries of brgy. Pinut-an, San Ricardo here in this province who were victims of the traumatic tragedy at about 9:00p.m.on Dec. 19, 2003 in Panaon lsland’s massive landslides.
The catastrophe which also badly hit the municipalities of Liloan and San Francisco had left many people buried alive and destroyed many houses leaving thousands of the inhabitants homeless.
Dr. Jerome Paler, Provincial GK Coordinator, disclosed that the aforesaid 35 duplex-type houses worth P60,000.00 each were a joint efforts from three donors, like the Dioceses of Maasin which donated P1M, the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also P1M and P1.8M from the Canadian organization called A Network of Church of the Poor (ANCOP) with the total amount of P4, 200,000.00.Gawad Kalinga, it was learned, was the implementing arm in the realization of the housing projects until its completion.
Paler informed that the project has started its construction works in March 2008 and were completed in Dec.2008.He said the workers of the project were the beneficiaries themselves. They conducted their works on shifting schedules as their counterpart labor for owning their respective dwellings.
Paler said that foods for work were provided also by the DSWD office to the landslide victims-beneficiaries during the 10-month duration of the construction works. The newly-established village has a water system and electricity.
More than 2 years after the massive landslides, numerous victims-survivors of the tragedy in the municipalities of Liloan and San Francisco were already having their own houses provided by various local and foreign donors. Pintuyan was later attended to by other domestic and international donors mostly from the humanitarian institutions. The donated houses named after the donors located in various construction sites, have also installed water systems and electricity installed by SOLECO.It bore the names, among others, like GMA Village, PNOC Village, Red Cross Village, Gawad Kalinga Village, Aboitez Village, Habitat For Humanity Village.
Akin to the latest finished housing units, these aforementioned houses were also built by the beneficiaries with the help of many volunteer workers from different private and government agencies in Southern Leyte including that from Cebu and other parts of the Leyte Island.
Donors, among others, were the Australian government, Japanese government,USA, Canada,GMA,ABS-CBN,PNOC,NPC,Aboitez Foundation, International Red Cross, religious institutions,Germany,Taiwan,Fil-Americans,private institutions, Manila Bulletin,Philstar,Philippine Daily Inquirer, Habitat For Humanity,Gawad Kalinga,Buddhist International. Housing sites development like road constructions and drainage systems were carried out by the DPWH Engineers and some Engineers from other government departments. Private lots for the housing units were either donated by the owners or were bought in cheaper prices by the provincial government.
Earlier, a mass was conducted and officiated by Bishop Precioso Cantillas and was assisted by some priests. It was attended by the recipients, some Couples For Christ members, barangay officials and some folks in the barrio and the neighboring barangays.
Pinut-an Barangay Captain Flory Anajao speaking in behalf of the constituents-beneficiaries expressed his profuse thankfulness and gratitude to the Gawad Kalinga officials and the 3 aforementioned donors for granting them free dwellings which they can call their own.
The affair was also attended by some DSWD personnel led by DSWD Regional Director Leticia Corollo.
(Note: These 2 news stories combined as one were written sometime in 2007 and in January 2009.It is posted here for the information of new batch of domestic and overseas readers.Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)