SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – Nineteen households in the Municipality of Laua-an temporarily resettled in the National Housing Authority (NHA) relocation site after the Paliwan River overflowed due to heavy rainfall caused by the enhanced southwest monsoon on Tuesday.
Mayor Aser Baladjay said in an interview Wednesday that the gushing water washed out their houses along the river in Sitio Talutog, Barangay Guinbanga-an.
The relocation site is in a safer area in the same barangay.
‘Antique Rep. Antonio Agapito Legarda visited the area with officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for an ocular inspection and to extend relief assistance on Wednesday, he said.
Each household received PHP100,000, which they could use to purchase materials to repair their houses from Rep. Legarda and his sibling, Senator Loren Legarda.
During the visit, DPWH Assistant Regional Director Al Fruto and Antique District Engineer Betsy Uy recommended the construction of a mega dike amounting to PHP150 mi
llion.
‘Rep. Legarda vowed to assist in looking for the fund needed for the construction of the mega dike,’ the mayor said.
Meanwhile, Train urged local government units to strictly implement ‘no build zones’ along the coast and other disaster-prone areas like Sebaste town.
He said that around 25 tombs inside the cemetery, located along the coastal area considered a no-build zone, were washed out by the flash flood on Sept. 14.
‘There are also structures constructed on the areas that used to be the pathway,’ Train said.
The weather disturbance in Antique has resulted in the suspension of in-person classes from Sept.16 until Wednesday in the seven municipalities of the province.
Train said Libertad, Hamtic, San Jose de Buenavista, and Tibiao suspended face-to-face classes from preschool to senior high school, while Culasi, Barbaza, and Anini-y suspended classes in all levels. (PNA)
Source: Philippines News Agency