TACLOBAN CITY, July 24 (PNA) – Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddle and Philippine Red Cross (PRC) chairman Richard J. Gordon will lead the ceremonial turnover of 154 core-shelter units at Bagacay village in this city.
Edwin Pamonag, officer-in-charge of PRC Leyte chapter, said the activity would be on July 28 at the Palo municipal building and a walk-through at Bagacay village.
The 154 core shelters were donated by the Australian Red Cross through the PRC.
The core progressive shelter measures 26 square meters made of half concrete and plywood with red galvanized iron sheets roofing. It is designed to withstand 220 kilometer per hour winds and earthquake. The roofing is pitched at 30 degrees or “cuatro aguas” to withstand strong winds.
The walls are painted in white done by the beneficiaries. The painting of their houses is part of the beneficiaries sweat equity, according to PRC Secretary General Gwen Pang.
According to Pamonag, the PRC chairman targets 5,000 beneficiaries in its core-shelter program in Tacloban City alone. It is not in the resettlement area as the city lacks the development site.
It is an on-site construction where the beneficiaries own the land, not in no-build zones. If the beneficiary does not own the land and the owner agrees to lend the land to him where he can build his home, a memorandum of agreement would be signed by both parties and notarized.
Aside from the ceremonial turnover, Ambassador Tweddle will visit the Australian-donated houses in Libertad village, one of the hardest hit villages in Palo, Leyte during supertyphoon Yolanda.
The Red Cross with its partners, targets 12,000 houses in Leyte and 5,000 units in Tacloban City. It has already finished 4,600 houses in several towns in Leyte province. (PNA)