Hilongos, Leyte – Some two hundred ninety-seven (297) poor Yolanda victims of this town were recently awarded P70,000. 00 each for the construction of a core shelter unit funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be implementing this so-called Core Shelter Project, with the ADB and local government unit at various levels and other government entities as partners.
The beneficiaries, who were rendered homeless by Yolanda, were identified by the ADB. They come from Barangays San Agustin, Baliw, San Antonio, Utanan, and San Juan.
During the program, Hilongos Mayor Albert Villahermosa made the beneficiaries understand that they could no longer be eligible for the DSWD’s Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) as such is also a shelter program. In said event, Leyte Governor Dominic Petilla and Vice-Governor Carlo Loreto were present.
In the orientation conducted three months ago or on July 20, 2015, still in this town, DSWD Central Office Focal Person for the Recovery and Rehabilitation Division of the Disaster Response Emergency Assistance Management Bureau (DReAMB), Honesto Pardo, bared that these houses measure five meters by four meters.
He pointed out that one of the features of the program is that beneficiaries have to group themselves into five or ten and help each other finish their houses. While they are busy fixing their houses, the agency will be giving cash incentive of Php 195.00 per day for them to meet their daily needs.
In other words. the construction of shelter units is implemented via the cash for work (CFW) scheme for ten days, the required period they have to finish each unit.
This shelter assistance project started in the late 70’s thru the provision of Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) for family victims to repair their partially damaged houses. As the typhoons came and grew stronger, the government decided to provide typhoon – resistant low cost housing which the people and affected families could build themselves using local materials.
In 1988, AO 76 known as the Implementing Guidelines for Core Shelter Assistance Pilot Project (CSAP) for victims of typhoon Sisang was formulated to implement CSAP which was later amended thru AO 101 series of 1989 known as the Implementing Guidelines for the Core Shelter Project. In 1991, the DSWD Core Shelter design won the World Habitat Award in London.
The shelter assistance is a service meant to assist family victims of disaster acquire decent shelters. This shall be made available only to family-victims whose houses were either totally of partially destroyed by either natural or man-made disasters.
The eligibility for the assistance is based from a set of criteria wherein the assessment and recommendation of the City / Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officers (C/MSWDOs) is vital, following a set of criteria provided by DSWD and validated by the DSWD Field Offices. Prioritization is determined based on certain criteria indicated in its guidelines in consideration of the funds available for the purpose.