A STALLED project to put up an evacuation center worth P34 million in Sabangan town in Mountain Province has resumed after funds were hashed out.
Mayor Marcial Lawilao Jr. led the groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which began operations on Thursday, November 3, citing the assistance of Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as key factors in the resumption of the project.
The evacuation center was originally intended to begin as early as 2020, according to Lawilao, but was stalled due to “unprecedented circumstances.”
Lawilao said that with the assistance of local government and the concerned agencies, the P34 million evacuation center was included in the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and properly funded, allowing for its implementation.
The lot used for the evacuation center was a donation from Sabangan citizen Douglas Patiwacen, which will soon host the 6th evacuation center in the province.
“The construction of this evacuation center is timely and will greatly help in our disaster response considering that in the past typhoons, we had evacuees who were temporarily sent to their relatives in the absence of an evacuation center,” Lawilao said.
