The National Housing Authority (NHA) and the city government of Naga, Cebu will construct 246 houses for the families affected by the landslide believed to be caused by heavy rainfall and quarry operations in Barangay Tinaan in September last year.
In a report by the Philippine News Agency, it was revealed that Naga’s local government unit will fund 54 housing units in Barangay Tinaan while the remaining 192 housing units will be constructed by the NHA on the Balili property in the coastal area of the barangay.
The 2.1 hectares of the Balili property where some of the housing units will be built was donated by Cebu’s provincial government.
Naga City Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong also said on the same report that the building plan submitted by the NHA has already been signed.
Meanwhile, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of Central Visayas with Engr. William Cuñado as its head has been conducting a geo-hazard assessment in Tinamaan to assure the safety of the site for the housing units.
Said housing units from the city government and NHA are described as a 50-square-meter lot with a 26-square-meter floor area which are all free for the landslide victims.
However, some members of the displaced families have reportedly refused the offer of relocation in fear of possible storm surge as the location of the Balili property is near the Tinaan shoreline.
These 154 evacuated families had instead decided to look for their own relocation site somewhere in the neighboring towns of Minglanilla and San Fernando after seeking for humanitarian assistance rather than receiving a house from the government.
The said landslide killed 78, injured 18, and had five more missing residents of Barangay Tinaan where a private mining firm had quarry operations.
