At least 81 families of the Mamanwa tribe in Claver town, Surigao del Norte are recipients of PHP25 million worth of housing units from the government through the National Housing Authority (NHA).

The housing units were handed over to the Indigenous People (IP) families on Wednesday by NHA 13 (Caraga) Manager Erasme Madlos, Claver Mayor Georgia Gokiangkee, and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples provincial officer Victor Marc Bernal.

The units were built at the Daging Tribal Village in Barangay Urbiztondo of the town.

Of the total budget, PHP20 million was derived from the NHA’s Housing Assistance Program for Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples, with a counterpart of PHP5 million from the local government.

“The project aims to address the housing needs of the Mamanwa families in Daging Tribal Village and is a significant step of the government in promoting inclusivity and social justice,” the NHA-13 said in a statement Thursday.

Datu Alicio Patac, the IP community chief, said the housing units would bring transformative impacts to the Mamanwa families and foster a greater sense of stability, security, and cultural preservation.

“I am thankful to the government, the NHA, and the Claver local government for pursuing this housing project for our families,” Patac said.

Lito Landesa, a recipient, said his family now has a place they could finally call home.

“Our life will be better here in this village (Daging Tribal Village) as compared to our situation in the hinterlands,” he said in the vernacular. (PNA)