Marcos said he ordered the NHA to complete an unfinished housing project in the province because the government had already spent money on it, and people needed houses.
Marcos visited Antique on Friday to distribute 1,000 sacks of smuggled premium rice to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries in the municipality.
Marcos orders NHA: Turn over houses to 770 Antiqueño families by December
Oct 7, 2023 02:58 AM
At a glance
President Marcos said he ordered the National Housing Authority (NHA) to immediately complete a housing project in Antique so that 770 families from the province can finally move into their new homes in time for Christmas after suffering from Tropical Storm Paeng in 2022.
Marcos said this after he was informed of an unfinished NHA project in the province on Oct. 6.
In a speech in Antique, the President said he ordered the NHA to complete the project because the government had already spent money on it and people needed houses.
"To know that we have 770 families who will spend this Christmas in their new home is one of the best news that I have heard in a long time," he said in a speech in San Jose, Antique.
Marcos visited Antique on Friday to distribute 1,000 sacks of smuggled premium rice to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries in the municipality.
Bridge rehab
Meanwhile, President Marcos told the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to quickly rehabilitate the Paliwan Bridge in Antique after the damage it sustained from Tropical Storm Paeng isolated it from the rest of the Panay Islands.
In his speech, the President reiterated his order to the DPWH in Western Visayas to prioritize the rehabilitation of the said bridge.
"Inaatasan ko ang Public Works ng Region VI na pagtuunan (ng pansin) para agarang magka-aksyon dito (I am ordering the DPWH-Region VI to pay attention and ensure quick action here)," he said.
“[Inyo] pong madaliin ngunit dapat tiyakin ding matibay at hindi sub-standard ang pagkakagawa ng mga imprastraktura natin (Please hurry up but make sure that the rehabilitation won't be sub-standard)," he added.
Tropical Storm "Paeng" destroyed Antique's two major bridges. A section of Paliwan Bridge, connecting Laua-an town in the north and Bugasong town in the south, collapsed due to rampaging water.
It also severely damaged Oyungan Bridge, which is Antique's gateway to Iloilo province through the Iloilo towns of Miag-ao and San Joaquin.
According to Marcos, his government is building and rehabilitating major infrastructures to ensure agricultural products can easily reach the market and trading centers.