THE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) on Wednesday said the agency is prepared to provide 950 temporary and permanent shelter units to families affected by the activity of the restive Taal Volcano.
DHSUD said the housing units, which are “readily available,” are located in Sariaya and Tiaong in Quezon province. These units are being offered by the National Housing Authority (NHA).
“The Office of Civil Defense, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, as well as the NHA, have already inspected the housing units and they can be utilized whenever the need arises,” DHSUD Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario said in a news statement.
DHSUD-Regional Office 4A Director Jann Roby Otero said the agency and NHA have started preparations for the provision of temporary electricity and water supply in the Sariaya and Tiaong sites just in case these will be utilized.
Otero added that profiling of houses and intended beneficiary families are already underway.
“The government, through DHSUD, is always ready to provide necessary assistance to families affected by disasters. It is part of the department’s mandate to help relocate and provide decent housing to those impacted by calamities,” Del Rosario said.
The DHSUD chief likewise announced that the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), another attached key shelter agency of the department, would provide assistance to families within affected areas through the Community Mortgage Program (CMP).
The CMP is a financing scheme that enables organized residents of slums to borrow for land purchase and housing development. It is being implemented by the SHFC for low-income households in coordination with local government units (LGUs).
Prior to the latest eruption of Taal Volcano, DHSUD has been actively engaging local government units (LGU) affected by the January 2020 eruption.
In fact, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed with the Mataas na Kahoy LGU for the establishment of an evacuation center. Two more similar MOAs are in the pipeline with two other Batangas LGUs.
DHSUD also allotted funds for other LGUs affected by Taal Volcano eruption in 2020 to assist them in relocating their constituents out from harm’s way.