GENERAL SANTOS CITY (28 February 2015) - The 38 families relocated from their coastal residence in Purok Tinago, Barangay South due to coastal erosion received assistance from the city government on February 25.
City Mayor Ronnel Rivera, accompanied by the City Housing and Land Management Office, City Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office, and City Social Welfare and Development Office, went to Promise Land—a relocation site in Barangay Mabuhay—and distributed aid to the affected families.
The assistance from City Hall came in the form of "family packs” consisting of basic commodities such as 10-kilos of rice, canned goods, basin, kitchen utensils, and clothes.
Arsenia Agraviador, one of the beneficiaries, expressed her delight for “rescuing them” from imminent danger and providing for their basic needs.
“We were so afraid when the soil underwater was devoured. I thought first that it was a sinkhole, but it was even more dangerous. I really thank the local government for caring for us,” Agraviador said.
The same sentiment was also expressed by other residents who were relocated from Tinago, now a no-build zone.
The city government has been coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development so that these affected families can avail of the Core Shelter Assistance Project.
Gawad Kalinga also indicated willingness to help these families build more decent homes.
The 38 families were prioritized to be relocated first because they were living very close to the shoreline.
The remaining 1,000 families living in Tinago will be relocated in a three-hectare relocation site in Lanton, Barangay Apopong.
“I want everyone to be safe that is why I ordered a forced evacuation. If some will not heed our warnings, then we will give a waiver that the local government will not be responsible if something will happen to them,” Mayor Rivera explained. “But of course, I am not heartless that is why I still plead for them to voluntarily evacuate.” (Gensan CPIO/ Ian John M. Lagare)
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