The city government, in partnership with the National Housing Authority (NHA), turned over Thursday the PHP 36.6-million housing project to 117 families displaced by the 2019 earthquake in Barangay Ilomavis here.

The project comprised of 117 newly-built housing units for Puroks 3 and 4 of Barangay Ilomavis, both declared hazardous and landslide-prone areas based on the assessment by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“We swiftly requested and started the project two months after the 6.6 magnitude quake that shook the locality in October 2019 and forced these people to evacuate,” Mayor Joseph Evangelista said.

Funded by the NHA, each unit costs PHP270,000.

The beneficiaries also received collapsible water carrier with water purification tablets, collapsible water gallon container, sleeping kits, and food packs comprised of five kilos of rice, canned goods, and coffee.

According to Evangelista, the LGU is continuing its consultations with the affected families to provide appropriate interventions, particularly livelihood, to supplement their daily needs.

“We never stopped assisting them after the calamity and during this time of pandemic,” he said.

In his response, Jimmy Mantawil, the barangay chairman of Ilomavis expressed his commendation to the concerned agencies in striving to give the suitable interventions.

Earlier this year, the city government also turned over 551 housing units at the same relocation site.

Kidapawan City is among the first local government units to respond to the housing needs of their displaced constituents in the provinces of North Cotabato and Davao del Sur that were both severely affected by the 2019 quake incident.

The strongest of the series of earthquakes that struck the province of North Cotabato in October 2019 was recorded at magnitude 6.6 with the epicenter traced in Tulunan town that borders the municipality of Makilala.

The tremor was also felt in other parts of Mindanao. (PNA)