March 29, 2024

After 12 years, the housing units of the 66 families at Mamuyod, Ambassador in Tublay, Benguet, who were affected by Typhoon Pepeng in 2009, were formally turned over on Jan. 11. 
Mayor Armando Lauro said there are 78 families who are beneficiaries of the housing unit but 12 families did not finish constructing their houses yet. 
The housing units, located in nearby Sitio Tabeyo of the same barangay, were constructed through the Core Shelter Assistance Program (CSAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Each family received P70,000 cash for their housing aside from the cash for work.
Lauro said the housing site was initially turned over to the affected residents in 2015 but construction of the houses took six years due to its slope terrain. 
“The residents have to prepare and monitor the area for its foundation, to make sure that they can build two or three-story houses as long as the third floor consists of light materials,” Lauro said.
He said the municipality’s counterpart was to purchase a lot and provide the same for the housing site where each family was given 90 square meters each.
The provincial government and several non-government organizations also extended assistance to the beneficiaries for them to start construction.
The DSWD-CAR provided the residents a total of P7,604,500 financial assistance comprised of the CSAP, cash for work for the site development, construction of child development center, sustainable livelihood program, multi-skills training for 19 beneficiaries, lemon production and housekeeping.
In 2011, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-CAR released the assessment and mapping report in the municipality identifying Mamuyod as a landslide-prone area.
Residents earlier expressed willingness to be relocated due to the cracks that appeared on their houses and on the ground.
The residents had no choice but to remain in their houses while some would go to their relatives whenever typhoons hit the area. – Ofelia C. Empian