The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is accelerating the completion of a second Bayanihan Village, this time, in Barangay Pajo, Daanbantayan, Cebu to provide safer and more dignified shelter for families displaced by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck northern Cebu last month.
This directive comes directly from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., after visiting the first completed Bayanihan Village in Barangay Poblacion, San Remigio, and emphasized the need for swift and coordinated government action to support affected communities.
DHSUD secretary Jose Ramon Aliling personally inspected the ongoing construction in Daanbantayan following his visit with the president to San Remigio, where 45 modular shelter units (MSUs) were turned over to the local government and are now occupied by initial beneficiaries.
The San Remigio site was set up in just one week through the convergence of national agencies including the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Office of Civil Defense, and other support units.
Aliling noted that the second site in Daanbantayan, one of the hardest-hit towns, has already been prepared in close coordination with the DPWH, and installation of MSUs is underway.
After the town was hit by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake, Mayor Gilbert Arrabis Jr. mobilized the town’s own emergency shelter efforts.
Arrabis assured residents that temporary shelters will be established for those whose homes were destroyed or damaged during the earthquake.
With support from the DSWD, which provided tents and personnel, evacuation centers have been set up across various barangays, now housing hundreds of families and individuals displaced by the disaster.
Aside from the MSUs, last Friday, the LGU of Daanbantayan also facilitated the distribution of financial assistance under the Emergency Housing Assistance Program for households whose homes were destroyed.
The National Housing Authority (NHA), in coordination with the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, led the distribution of ?30,000 to each of the 186 validated households.
Arrabis thanked the NHA for its swift response and clarified that initial assessments were conducted by barangay officials and forwarded to the NHA. These were revalidated by the Municipal Engineering Office based on criteria set by the housing authority.
Households not included in the initial payout but listed as destroyed will be called to their respective barangays for orientation by engineers from the NHA and LGU Daanbantayan.
Reassessment will begin today to ensure accurate damage verification.