GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 27 Nov) – The municipal government of Malungon in Sarangani province is pushing for the operationalization next year of the P30-million regional evacuation center being built in the area.
Malungon, Sarangani. Map courtesy of Google
Jessie dela Cruz, head of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said Wednesday the construction of the facility is currently ongoing in a two-hectare site in Barangay Poblacion.
He said the project is being implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Region 12.
Dela Cruz said the local government is working with project implementers to ensure that it will be completed as scheduled early next year.
“We are in a hurry for the project to be done in three months so we can have a facility that will accommodate evacuees in case a man-made or natural disaster would occur,” he said in a statement.
The official said the regional evacuation center, the sixth facility in Region 12, will have complete amenities to serve at least 500 people.
He said the construction of the project was pushed by the municipal government, through Mayor Maria Theresa Constantino, and supported by Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao, Rep. Rogelio Pacquiao and Gov. Steve Chiongbian-Solon.
Malungon, Sarangani province’s biggest municipality, was earlier identified as among the priorities for the project in the region.
The municipality had experienced evacuation these past years due to flooding incidents and related natural calamities.
Parts of the area are traversed by the critical Makilala-Malungon fault line, which could reportedly generate as high as a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, as earlier noted by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
As of last June, DPWH-12 already completed three regional evacuation centers: in Barangay Bunao, Tupi town in South Cotabato; Barangay Buayan here; and Barangay Rosal in Carmen, North Cotabato.
Basir Ibrahim, DPWH-12 director, described these structures as hazard‐adaptive and needs‐sensitive evacuation centers that could provide “safe and efficient shelter in times of typhoons and other calamities.”
Each center includes a well-lit and sufficiently ventilated accommodation building, an office and infirmary building, separate toilet and bathrooms for male and female, laundry and drying area, water tank building, generator room, pump room, garbage disposal area, parking area and assembly area. (MindaNews)
