The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) funded the construction of evacuation centers in Ilocos Sur and Mountain Province.
After a series of groundbreaking ceremonies in Southern and Central Luzon for its multi-purpose evacuation center (MPEC) project, Pagcor officially sealed its partnership with the local government units (LGUs) of Tagudin and Tadian by initially turning over a check for P25 million to each recipient LGU during separate groundbreaking ceremonies held last Jan. 22.
Pagcor said that the amount will kickstart the construction of the P50-million MPEC in each town.
“Each MPEC has a provision for kitchen area, storage areas for relief goods, toilet and shower rooms for male and female, lactating rooms for nursing mothers, and a spacious badminton-court type area that may be used for sports events and other purposes such as trainings when it is not being used as an evacuation site,” Pagcor said.
Expected to be completed within a year, Pagcor said that the MPECs in Ilocos Sur and Mountain Province will “soon address the lack of appropriate evacuation facilities not only in the recipient towns but also in neighboring communities.”
Pagcor President and Chief Operating Officer Alfredo Lim, who graced the groundbreaking ceremony in Tagudin, highlighted the corporation’s commitment to provide much-needed assistance to far-flung communities.
“We at Pagcor strive to bring government services to those who are in dire need, even to remote communities,” Lim said.
“We hope and pray that these services will alleviate the conditions of our ‘kababayans’ especially those who have less in life,” he added.
Tagudin Mayor Roque Verzosa Jr. thanked Pagcor for another significant contribution to their municipality.
Tagudin Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Engr. Michael Padayao said that the soon-to-rise MPEC in their town will be of great help to locals who need to evacuate to safer places during tropical cyclones.
“We have 11 coastal barangays which can be heavily affected during typhoon season,” Padayao said.
“With this multi-purpose evacuation center from Pagcor, affected residents will no longer hesitate to evacuate as they are assured of a comfortable place to stay during times of disasters,” he added.
Mountain Province Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan Jr. also thanked Pagcor for the project. “Pagcor has benefited our province in so many ways…we became recipient of its school building project, computer and schoolkits donation program,” he shared.
The MPEC project in Tadian, he said, will benefit “not only the town’s residents but also nearby communities.”
Aside from Ilocos Sur and Mountain Province, Pagcor has also initially released the first tranche of MPEC funding for Legazpi City and Ligao in Albay; Ocampo, Tigaon, San Jose, and Sagñay in Camarines Sur; and San Fernando Cty and Floridablanca in Pampanga, bringing to 10 the number of LGUs that received grants from the State-run gaming firm.