The rehabilitation of the 770 housing units for victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Municipality of Laua-an is almost finished and will be ready for turnover by December 15, a provincial official said Thursday.

In an interview, Eby Archangel Butiong, head of the Antique Provincial Housing Affairs and Resettlement Office (PHARO) and the secretariat of Task Force Lugta, said the contractor of the National Housing Authority (NHA) relocation site in Barangay Lugta, Laua-an is only now doing the finishing touches.

“Repair of the windows and doors and repainting of the housing units are almost done,” he said.

The housing units, which had been finished in 2017, were not immediately turned over to the beneficiaries because of the flooding problem in the area, necessitating the rehabilitation of the flood-damaged housing units.

Butiong said the provincial government also assisted in the rehabilitation activities that started in September this year by providing 20 units of jetmatic pumps so the beneficiaries could have a source of water for their daily use.

“The construction of the drainage system is supposed to start also this week,” he said.

He added that the provincial government has allocated PHP10 million for the drainage system that would address the flooding problem.

He pointed out that during the aerial inspection of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of the site, Antique Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao promised to assist the NHA and its contractor so that beneficiaries could immediately occupy the housing units during the turnover on Dec. 15.

“The beneficiaries, who still live at the hazard zones along the coastal areas and upland areas of Laua-an, could already transfer to the relocation site before Christmas Day,” Butiong said. (PNA)