Binay taps SMDC to build homes for Sendong survivors

Jan. 14, 2012 - PRLog -- Binay, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has partnered with SM Development Corporation (SMDC) for the construction of 100 houses for Sendong survivors whose homes were destroyed in the floods at the height of Sendong just before Christmas.

“SM was kind enough to donate 100 housing units to the OVP for the relocation of families affected by typhoon Sendong,” Binay said. “This is public-private partnership and corporate social responsibility at its best and in action,” he added.

The housing units will be turned over to the Vice President in April, along with 6,000 other housing units. “We have already identified the land to be developed by DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways). This will be ready for the houses before April,” the Vice President said.

Binay recently created a task force for the relocation of all families displaced by the floods, with most of them having lived in high-risk areas like the massive sandbar straddling the Cagayan de Oro River. He also heads the task force.

All donations for the victims’ relocation, whether in cash or in kind, will now be coursed to the task force. “Monetary donations will be used by the NHA (National Housing Authority) to construct houses following one design. Donations in kind, or houses, which may come in varying designs will be given a specific area, which the DPWH will also prepare,” Binay said.

“The houses donated by SM will be permanent structures, unlike the temporary bunk houses built by DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) and the Red Cross,” he added.

Binay flew to Cagayan de Oro City last week to inspect the relocation sites being prepared by the government. He was one of the first government officials to visit CDO in December in the aftermath of the typhoon.

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