THREE municipalities in the province of Cagayan became the latest beneficiaries of the Multi-Purpose Evacuation Center (MPEC) project of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) after the state-run gaming agency inaugurated the newly constructed facilities on March 10 and 11.
The Pagcor-funded basketball-court type multi-purpose facilities worth P12.7 million each were formally unveiled in the towns of Amulung, Solana and Peñablanca, a statement from Pagcor read.
In the municipality of Solana, the evacuation facility built in the flood-prone Barangay Malalam-Malacabibi, was already used as a temporary shelter last October 2022 after the gates of Magat dam were opened to release water, following the onslaught of Tropical Storm Paeng (international name Nalgae).
Solana municipality
ACCORDING to Solana Municipal Mayor Jennalyn P. Carag, despite being partially completed, the Pagcor-funded evacuation facility already provided safe refuge to 80 families from low-lying communities in their town.
Carag was quoted in the statement as saying in Tagalog that when TS Paeng, the water level in Magat Dam rose.
There were barangays in our town that have been isolated, such as Dasun, Bauan and Malalam-Malacabibi. Even when this evacuation center was just being built, it has already helped, she added.
In the town of Peñablanca, Pagcors evacuation facility was built in the remote barangay of Minanga, which is almost two hours away from the town center and has no access to telecommunication. The community’s mountainous location and partly unpaved roads, make it challenging for the local government to deliver swift aid to locals whenever they are affected by natural disasters.
Peñablanca, Amulung
Peñablanca Mayor Washington M. Taguinod was quoted in the statement as saying that with the completion of the Pagcor-funded evacuation center in the far-flung Barangay Minanga, locals—including indigenous peoples living at the foot of Sierra Madre—will be assured of a safe shelter as well as a venue where the local government can download relief goods and other basic government services in times of disasters.
Meanwhile, Amulung Municipal Mayor Elpidio R. Rendon also expressed his gratitude to Pagcor for giving the vulnerable sectors of their community a secure evacuation shelter during calamities.
“In Amulung, we have identified typhoons, landslides, drought and flood as major hazards. The flood alone affects 17 of the 47 barangays. This situation pushes us to raise the adaptive capabilities of our communities that are exposed to flooding. This evacuation center will be of great help to the vulnerable members of our community—such as the elderly, children and pregnant women—especially during the onslaught of natural disasters,” Rendon was quoted in the statement as saying.
Beneficiaries
PAGCOR Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility Group Ramon Stephen R. Villaflor, who graced the inauguration of the evacuation facilities in Cagayan, was quoted in the statement as saying that instead of constructing a two-storey building, the state-run gaming firm provided funding for four basketball-court type multi-purpose facilities in towns that are most vulnerable to flooding.
Besides Amulung, Solana and Peñablanca, the town of Iguig also received a basketball-court type evacuation facility. Final inspection of the project in Iguig was already conducted.
Meanwhile, apart from the province of Cagayan, Pagcor also recently inaugurated 2-storey multi-purpose evacuation centers worth P50 million each in the towns of Floridablanca and Candaba in Pampanga. Over 200,000 residents from said municipalities stand to benefit from the modern and spacious buildings.
To date, a total of 24 MPECs have been completely built and inaugurated nationwide while 53 are still undergoing construction.
Image credits: Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.