ZAMBOANGA CITY – The construction of housing units for victims of rebel attacks here last year has finally resumed Wednesday after it was suspended due to substandard materials used in the project.
The project in Santa Catalina village is under the so-called Z3R or Zamboanga City Roadmap to Recovery and Reconstruction.
The suspension in the construction of 51 housing units was lifted after the National Housing Authority has committed to comply with the recommendations of the local government.
Mayor Maria Isabelle Salazar said the recommendations were based on the results of joint inspections conducted by the City Engineer’s Office, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Office of the City Planning and Development Coordinator, NHA, the BillRay Construction Company and Santa Catalina village leaders.
Foremost in the recommendations of the local government is for the housing contractor – through NHA – to comply with the requirements for the issuance of appropriate permits for the project implementation and to retrofit the 51 units of houses.
The retrofitting of the housing units was also suggested by the contractor on the condition that it will submit an affidavit of undertaking that in the event there is a failure in retrofitting, it would be solely responsible for it.
The contractor is also to reconstruct the demolished housing units and those that were identified as beyond repair and that appropriate plastering would be undertaken on the walls, to include field density testing on the soil bearing capacity, compliance to appropriate construction methods and, soil compaction of the housing area and assurance that construction materials will be in good quality and sourced from accredited suppliers.
Salazar ordered the suspension of the construction and ordered a review of the housing project after discovering the use of substandard construction materials. The subsequent suspension order was issued by the NHA, the project’s implementing agency.
She also assured that the local government will do everything it can to ensure compliance of all engineering standards to the best interest of the beneficiaries. “‘We cannot sacrifice quality with quantity,” she said.
Several congressmen also inspected the area and were shocked to personally see the poor quality of the housing units and the substandard materials used in the construction. It was unknown why the NHA failed to immediately discover the use of substandard construction materials in the housing units.
Residents in the area said they noticed cracks on the housing walls and the poor quality of the construction with some officials even saying the defects were caused by an accident after a backhoe hit some of the units resulting to the collapse of the beams. It was unknown if there were sanctions or fines imposed on the contractor of the housing project.
The project is intended to residents in the area whose houses were destroyed during the siege of Moro National Liberation Front here that lasted three weeks. The street battles killed and wounded over 400 people and displaced some 120,000 people. The attack was in retaliation to the government’s peace talks with rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front. (Mindanao Examiner)
Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindanaoexaminer
Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindanaoExamine
Read Our News on: http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com and http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net
20