Modular homes ready for Cebu quake victims in first ‘Bayanihan Village’
Safe haven rising Quake victims will soon find shelter in modular homes provided by the DHSUD — structures built to withstand the elements and help survivors rebuild their lives with dignity.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DHSUD
Families displaced by the recent Cebu earthquake will soon move into modular shelter units (MSUs) at the first-ever Bayanihan Village—completed in just seven days through the joint efforts of government agencies and private partners.
Located in Barangay Poblacion, San Remigio, the Bayanihan Village was built “bayanihan-style,” providing safe and comfortable homes for affected families. The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) announced Thursday that the turnover of MSUs to the local government unit (LGU) of San Remigio has begun.
“Ang utos ng Pangulong Marcos Jr. ay bigyan ng mas komportable at ligtas na masisilungan ang ating mga kababayan, kaya po nagtulung-tulong ang iba’t ibang ahensiya ng gobyerno para agad na mabuo ang Bayanihan Village na ito,” DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling said.
Aliling praised the collaboration of various national agencies and private groups for their swift action in constructing the Bayanihan Village. “Ito ay bunga ng agarang pagtugon ng maraming ahensiya kasama na ang pribadong sektor sa panawagan ng ating Pangulo para sa pagtutulungan ng lahat patungo sa pagbangon ng Cebu,” he added.
The DHSUD led the project alongside the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which handled site development; the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which will manage the facility; and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Coast Guard, and Office of Civil Defense (OCD), which helped deliver and install the MSUs.
The project was finished in just one week, with two private companies also deploying workers to assist in the rapid construction.
After the turnover, the San Remigio LGU will handle beneficiary selection and facility upkeep. The Bayanihan Village features electricity, lighting, windows for ventilation, and shared comfort rooms and lavatories.
Similar villages are now being established in Daanbantayan, Cebu—one of the hardest-hit towns in the magnitude 6.9 earthquake on 30 September—and in Tarragona, Davao Oriental, which suffered from a magnitude 7.4 quake on 10 October.