by Raadee Sausa February 22, 2021 Lemery Municipal Mayor Eulalio Alilio (3rd from ...
February 22, 2021
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| Lemery Municipal Mayor Eulalio Alilio (3rd from left) and PAGCOR’s Assistant Vice President for Community Relations Ramon Stephen Villaflor (4th from left) lead the burying of time capsule during the groundbreaking ceremony of the PAGCOR Village in Lemery, Batangas. Also in photo are Lemery’s local officials. (Photo from PAGCOR) |
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) unveiled its newest charitable project to safeguard the living condition of affected families who were displaced by the Taal volcano's eruption last year.
Pagcor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrea Domingo broke ground the Pagcor Villages in the towns of Agoncillo and Lemery on February 18.
They are designed to provide permanent shelters to less privileged families who were displaced by Taal Volcano’s eruption in January 2020. Most of these families remain homeless until now.
Each Pagcor Village has a funding of P30 million. Its main features include 100 units of 30-square-meter houses and an arc or signage located at the entrance of the project site.
The Pagcor Village in Lemery, which will be built in barangay Payapa Ilaya and barangay Talaga, are both outside the danger zone with up to 15 kilometers distance.
Meanwhile, the project site in Agoncillo is in barangay San Jacinto, which is 14 kilometers away from the danger zone.
The beneficiary local government units' counterparts are to provide the land where the housing project will be constructed and ensure that the site has access to roads, water and electricity.
Domingo said the project came into fruition to provide more concrete and long-term solutions to locals who were displaced by Taal Volcano’s eruption last year.
“When the Taal Volcano erupted in January 2020, we deployed volunteer Pagcor employees who immediately distributed food and non-food essentials to affected locals. However, the bigger problem was the loss of homes and properties of many families living in the towns surrounding the volcano. Now, in spite of the ongoing pandemic, we launched this program not only to provide permanent housing for Taal-affected families who have no means to rebuild their homes, but to also give them hope to rise above their situation,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Agoncillo Mayor Daniel Reyes said about 1,700 houses in their town were damaged during the Taal eruption and the series of typhoons that battered the country in 2020.
"Of this number, around 400 houses were completely destroyed. Kaya nagpapa-salamat po kami sa Pagcor dahil mabibigyan ng pabahay yung ilan naming kababayan na wala na talagang babalikan," he said.
Also, Lemery Mayor Eulalio Alilio expressed his gratitude to Pagcor for helping build a housing community for his displaced constituents.
"Dahil sa sunod-sunod na mga pagyanig ng lupa, tumaas ang tubig sa ilang mga bayan na hindi dati binabaha kaya maraming mga pamilya ang wala nang babalikang bahay. Dahil din sa pandemic, depleted na ang pondo ng aming lokal na pamahalaan kung kaya't malaking tulong itong proyekto ng Pagcor," he said.
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