The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO) of Puerto Princesa City spearheaded the House Rebuilding Project under its “Serbisyong Tapat at Nararapat” initiatives in five barangays considered as badly hit by Typhoon Odette.
The project aims to help rebuild 100 houses in 5 barangays or 20 houses in the following barangays: Maoyon, San Rafael and Concepcion—-while the other two barangays will be identified soon.
This project of the City Government of Puerto Princesa
headed by City Environment and Natural Resources Officer, Atty. Carlo B. Gomez, was made possible through the collaboration of Palawan Geographic Society (PGS), Wild Birds Photographers of the Philippines (WBPP) and Puerto Princesa Association of Quarry Permitees.
The House Rebuilding package consists of assorted lumber with an estimated volume of 530 board feet for each package, one bag of cement, 14 pieces of corrugated GI sheets, 4 pieces empty oil cans, 5 kilos of assorted nails, 1 kilo of umbrella nails, amakan/ sawali for walls, plain sheet for roofing, and round solid bars (RSB) for structural applications for concrete columns.
The sliced lumber was sourced from the uprooted trees during Typhoon Odette, which were inventoried, retrieved and hauled by the City ENRO with the assistance of the heavy equipment owned by quarry permitees.
The inventoried and retrieved uprooted trees were then placed under the custody of the punong barangay, based on the advisory issued on December 28, 2021, by the City ENRO and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) CENRO.
Through the initiative of the City ENRO, the logs from the uprooted trees were cut and sliced according to desired sizes for the House Rebuilding Project for families whose houses were totally damaged by Typhoon Odette.
Yesterday, January 28, 2022, Atty. Gomez together with Punong Barangay Wilfredo Poligratis of Barangay Maoyon, and representatives from PGS distributed 20 House Rebuilding Package worth P30,000 to 20 families in Barangay Maoyon.
The recipients were Richard Saavedra, Jaime de la Cruz Sr., Alejandro Amos Sr., Jomar Francia, Roman Gacot, Lea Gacelos, Fredeliza Garing, Luis Cojamco, Monilo Dequin, Jonalyn Fernandez, George Perlas, Dexter Castro, Maricel Solomon, Louielyn Garson, Paul Clemente, Jemmel Monton, Mark Andy Gacelos, Dennis Baruga, Cornelio Jamot, and Louie Cojamco.
One of the recipients of the House Rebuilding Project is 38-year-old Maricel Solomon. She said that after their house was destroyed by Typhoon Odette, they built a makeshift shanty made of tarpaulin as a shelter.
“Sa ngayon ay nag temporary lang kami nagtayo ng kubo, gawa lang sa trapal lang kasi ang bahay naming ay na-wash talaga. Maraming salamat sa mga binigay na ito sa amin. Ngayon ay makapatayo na kami ng aming bahay,” she said.
Another recipient is 38-year-old single mother of three children, Jonalyn Fernandez, of Purok Everlasting in Barangay Maoyon, who sells food as her source of income to raise her three children.
“Naglalako ako ng siomai, siopao para mai-tinda ko sa mga bahay sa looban (ng Maoyon). Mahirap pero kahit papano nakatawid. Nabagsakan kasi ng niyog ang aming bahay. Talagang durog kasi naipit ang bahay,” she said.
51-year-old Lea Gacelos, and a mother of three is also one of the recipients. She was teary-eyed when she recounted how they survived Typhoon Odette on December 17, 2021, which she said was their first time to experience such strong typhoon that unleased its might and fury. She was also chosen as one of the recipients of House Rebuilding Project.
“Na-wash out lahat ang bahay naming. Ngayon, sa kapitbahay nalang kami nakikitira,” she said.
62-year old George Perlas of Purok Damayan, Barangay Maoyon was thankful to the City ENRO and its partner organizations. He said that despite being an old man with three children, he build a shanty made of tarpaulin to temporarily shelter his children.
There are 168 totally damaged houses in Barangay Maoyon based on the records of the barangay and that of the City Social Welfare and Development Office.
The House Rebuilding Project beneficiaries will be assisted and monitored by City ENRO personnel until the house reconstruction is completed.
After the distribution of House Rebuilding package in Maoyon, the distribution of the 80 other House Rebuilding package is set in four other recipient barangays.
The House Rebuilding Package is a result of the mobilization and proper use of resources, especially the retrieval of the trees toppled by Typhoon Odette. As early as December 28, 2021, the City ENRO started the inventory, retrieval and slicing of these uprooted trees so that sliced lumber will be distributed properly to affected families.
Atty. Gomez said that the original plan was to distribute sliced lumber only to affected families, but with the mobilization of resources from its partner organizations, they came with an idea of providing the House Rebuilding packages with all the materials needed for rebuilding their house to help restore the homes of some 100 Typhoon Odette-affected families in the city.