Eastern Visayas Media Without Borders
by Miriam G. Desacada
Borongan City–In November 2013, super-typhoon Yolanda swept through Eastern Visayas, leaving a trail of destruction across the region, where one of the hardest hit was the small coastal town of Balangkayan in Eastern Samar.
The brutal scenery: houses and communities were flattened, livelihoods destroyed, and countless families displaced. And the promised response from the government: permanent housing for survivors under the Yolanda Rehabilitation Program, which was even flaunted then as a cornerstone of the national recovery effort.
Official records from the National Housing Authority (NHA) indicate that 390 permanent housing units were allocated for Balangkayan, specifically at Balangkayan Townville in Barangay Cantubi of the 5th-class town.
The government’s Yolanda Permanent Housing Program was designed to build thousands of houses across Eastern Visayas to replace makeshift shelters and temporary evacuation centers.
This program has been bannered as a reflection of the government’s commitment to help survivors rebuild their lives. However, after 12 years since the Yolanda’s devastation, no significant results have been achieved in this regard. The promised housing remained far from completion yet.
The national agencies have set a target of December 2025 for completion of all remaining Yolanda housing projects in Eastern Samar. But for many surviving families in Balangkayan, the delay in housing delivery means a torment of uncertainty. Many continue to live in temporary shelters, crowded relatives’ homes, or makeshift structures vulnerable to inclement weather.
Others are apprehensive that the unfinished housing units may deteriorate before they are officially handed over, especially if utilities such as water and electricity are not yet installed.
Despite these challenges, however, the people of Balangkayan remain hopeful, knowing that the local government has not abandoned them and has vowed to continue its quest for a solution, and that the promised homes are not forgotten.
A resident of Brgy. Cantubi said: “We have waited long, but we are glad to see progress now. We just want our families to have a safe place to call home.”
Mayor Allan Contado, of the Balangkayan municipal government, has made efforts to ensure that the housing project continues toward completion, notwithstanding the predicament they are currently facing.
Unlike in some municipalities where projects have stalled indefinitely, the Balangkayan LGU has coordinated with national agencies and mobilized local resources to keep construction moving.
Mayor Contado emphasized the urgency of completing the housing units. He said that the LGU could no longer wait for national-level interventions; thus, his office has been monitoring progress, facilitating the delivery of construction materials, and engaging with residents to identify unmet needs.
Mayor Contado said he has been working to ensure that the LGU could share its capability to meet the targeted period of completion. He said that, amid the complexity of post-disaster rehabilitation such as the Balangkayan housing project, the LGU has a critical role in bridging the gaps associated with the national undertaking.
After more than a decade of the Yolanda devastation, Balangkayan and its people continue to demonstrate their resilience. Many agreed that they are more determined than ever to overcome the delays in realizing the completion of their permanent homes. —-Miriam G. Desacada
