ILIGAN CITY -- The Housing and Resettlement Office (HRO) of the local government is verifying reports of Sendong survivors, who were given units at the Gawad Kalinga Bayanihan Village in Barangay Sta. Elena, selling their units to non-survivors.
Bayanihan Village is a joint housing program of the City Government of Iligan and the Gawad Kalinga, which at present has 1,600 housing units purposely for Iligan City Sendong survivors.
According to HRO records, there are 14 relocation sites in the city, the Bayanihan Village being the biggest.
HRO head Rey Roque said as of Wednesday, March 1, 95 units have been verified as sold by beneficiaries to non-Sendong survivors.
“These beneficiaries signed an agreement before they occupied the unit that they will not sell their units or they will not let non-beneficiaries occupy the area but they breached the contract,” Roque said.
Roque said some buyers claimed to be also survivors of Sendong to justify their purchase of the units from the original beneficiaries. But he said the HRO will still have to verify these claims.
By next week, all the evidences they gather will be submitted to the City Legal Office for proper action, he added.
“Apil pud sa imbestigasyon kung kinsa nga mga opisyal ang nagtabang o nanga-hente sa pagbinaligyaay sa units. Pero so far, wala pay mi-come out para mo-testify against any LGU (local government units) official (We will also investigate if a local official, if any, helped make the sale of the units possible. But so far, nobody has come out to testify against any LGU official),” Roque said.