The local government of Tupi, South Cotabato is strengthening its disaster preparedness by working on the relocation of informal settlers living in risky areas in the municipality to prevent loss of lives during calamities.
According to a report from the local government information center, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (MDRRMC) chaired by Mayor Reynaldo S. Tamayo, Jr. is currently preparing the 2.6-hectare relocation site in Barangay Poblacion that could accommodate at least 288 houses.
The MDRRMC, it said, will begin the relocation in June this year with the transfer of some 40 families living along the riverbanks in Tucalabong, Crossing Rubber.
“We need to relocate those settlers occupying near the riverbanks to avoid any untoward incidents at the onslaught of the rainy season,” the local government information center quoted the mayor as saying.
Tamayo appealed to municipal employees as well as other residents of the town to give their voluntary service, especially during weekends, in helping the Municipal Engineering Office build houses in the relocation site through a “bayanihan” system.
“Let us help build homes for our homeless town mates; by sharing your time and free labor mean a lot to the less fortunate,” the mayor said.
Meanwhile, the municipal government revealed that the housing facility will be offered for free to the beneficiaries.
However, it emphasized that recipients cannot own the house and lot as part of the local government’s safety measure to avoid the selling of the said property for monetary reason.
“Violating the same would lose their rights over the local government’s housing facility” it said.
