The National Housing Authority in Region 11 (NHA-11) would build around 400 houses for the members of the Ata Manobo tribe in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
The members of the tribe witnessed the groundbreaking rites and time capsule laying of the Balai Hirogo-Unan housing project in Sitio Basak, Barangay Sto. Niño on Thursday.
In a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Friday, NHA-11 regional manager, Engr. Zenaida M. Cabiles said some 100 families will be occupying four identified areas of the said barangay.
She added that the project is just one of the four sites in the town where NHA-11 is set to build housing units for indigenous peoples (IPs) amounting to PHP80 million.
Mayor Jonnie Libayao together with the other officials from the provincial government formally received from NHA-11 checks amounting to PHP60 million as initial funds for the construction of Balai Hirago-Unan and the three other IP housing sites namely; Balai Himulayanan in Barangay Dagohoy, Balai Hibatanan in Barangay Palma Gil, and Balai Pamanoykan in Sitio Cuyas, Barangay Sto. Niño.
Libayao thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for fulfilling his promise of providing adequate shelter for the IPs in remote villages in his town.
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Davao del Norte Provincial Director Roger Lumban has urged the Ata Manobos to support the government initiatives intended for them.
Datu Karyo Mangguyod, one of the beneficiaries of Balai Hirogo-Unan who was once a supporter of the communist terrorist group New People’s Army (NPA), said the housing project is his lifelong dream and vowed to protect it.
“This is the first time that I will own a property worth PHP200,000,” he said. (PNA)
