Monday, November 24, 2014

Beng orders resume of shelter construction for ‘siege’ victims


ZAMBOANGA CITY: Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco has lifted the suspension order on the construction of housing units at the Lustre Homeowners Subdivision in Brgy Sta. Catalina, reports reaching The Philippine Preview said.

The project is under the so-called Z3R or Zamboanga City Roadmap to Recovery and Reconstruction.

Climaco said she ordered the resumption of construction work after the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the developers guaranteed to act in accordance with a list of recommendations to replace the substandard transitory findings of the city hall.

On top of the recommendations is for the NHA to get the appropriate permits for the implementation of the project.

The NHA promised to get proper permits for the implementation of the project while contractor Billray Construction also agreed to retrofit 51 units being built to improve its durability.

The report said that Climaco wanted the contractor to submit an affidavit of undertaking, assuming full responsibility in case the employed procedures to strengthen the units still result in failure of the structures.

It was learned that Billray Construction agreed to reconstruct the housing units that collapsed and were demolished and those that were assessed to be beyond repair.

The suspension of the construction came after discovery of the use of substandard construction materials as residents in the area complained of seeing cracks on the housing walls and the poor quality of the construction.

The project is intended to residents in the area, whose houses were destroyed during the MNLF siege last September.