By Patricia Esteves (The Philippine Star) Updated November 09, 2009 12:00 AM
SAN JOSE DEL MONTE, Bulacan, Philippines – Mang Emil couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw on television how a whole shantytown in Quezon City was almost wiped out by raging floodwaters caused by tropical storm Ondoy.
He thought that if they still lived in the slums along the Pasig River, they might have suffered the same fate.
Fortunately, they were in their brand new Gawad Kalinga (GK) house, safe and sound when the destructive typhoon struck.
Mang Emil’s family was among those who formally received their new houses from Banco de Oro Foundation and GK last Saturday.
BDO turned over 28 houses to poor residents of Makati City who were relocated to the BDO Foundation GK Village here.
The move is part of Makati City’s relocation program for indigent informal settlers living near riverbanks or in the streets.
Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, who graced the event, assured the families that they would continue to receive benefits from the Makati government even if they are already living in Bulacan.
“We will take care of you even if you don’t reside in Makati anymore. You will still continue to receive your benefits as Makati residents,” Binay told the beneficiaries.
Aside from turning over the houses, the BDO Foundation also held the ribbon-cutting for a multi-purpose hall, which was built by the employees of Banco de Oro, and the Kapitbahayan GK residents themselves.
The BDO employees have been going to Bulacan every weekend for the past few months to construct the hall. They laid out the bricks, mixed cement and painted the walls of the hall.
Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo, vice chairman of the Banco de Oro Unibank Inc.’s board of directors, said she was touched by the labor of love of BDO employees in building the homes and the multi-purpose hall.
She was also amazed at the camaraderie between the BDO employees and the Kapitbahayan/GK beneficiaries who worked together to finish the homes and hall.
“This is the first time that the BDO Foundation has engaged in this kind of endeavor and we are glad that we did this. This is the first time but certainly not the last. We will participate in more of these things,” Bernardo said.
For his part, Mari Oquiñena, GK head of operations, expressed hope that other local government units (LGUs) would follow what Makati did for its poor informal settlers, particularly in taking them out from dangerous areas and transferring them to safer places.
The impoverished Makati families were transferred to the relocation site months ahead of Ondoy and thus, were spared from possible harm.
“We hope other LGUs will be forward-thinking, especially in relocating their townmates who live in dangerous sites. Makati took it upon itself to relocate them to safer places and thus, was relieved of further costs in rehabilitation. The LGUs really have to invest in their people,” Oquiñena said.
It is usually poor Filipinos who are vulnerable to heavy flooding and violent storms due to climate change and global warming.
Meanwhile, Mang Emil and his family expressed gratitude to GK and BDO for their new homes and new life.
“This is a miracle really for us. We are so overwhelmed with joy to finally have a home we can call our own, especially since it gives us security that we are safe in our house. It inspires us to be better folk and gives us hope to look forward to tomorrow, ” he said.
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